Characters: Colonies are massive and cerioid, with laterally compressed corallites of uneven height. Walls are acute: septa are thick, with large teeth. Columellae are deep-seated and often barely developed. Colonies have a thick fleshy mantle which is covered by fine papillae.
Colour: Very colourful: red, purple and green are the most common colours, with corallites and walls almost always of contrasting colours.
Similar Species: Colonies with uniform colour are readily mistaken for Micromussa amakusensis.
Habitat: Shallow reef environments especially of subtropical localities.
Abundance: Sometimes common.
Taxonomic Note: Readily confused with Micromussa amakusensis in situ. The type specimen, believed a rarity when collected, is not clearly representative of the species across its broad Indo-Pacific distribution range.
Taxonomic References: Veron and Pichon (1982); Veron (2000a);
Identification Guides: Veron (1986a); Nishihira and Veron (1995); Chan, Choi, McCorry et al. (2005); Turak and DeVantier (2011b);