Characters: Polyps are solitary or form colonies with a small number of corallites. Colonies are cerioid or sub-cerioid. Septa are in multiple irregulr orders, columellae are well formed. Lower order septa may be exsert and most septa have prominent teeth. Mantles are thick and mask the underlying skeleton.
Colour: Very colourful: red, purple and green are the most common colours, with corallites and walls usually of contrasting colours.
Similar Species: Blastomussa wellsi which has smaller corallites and fewer septa. See also Parasimplastrea omanensis which is cerioid and has extensive ‘groove and tubercle’ formations.
Habitat: Reef environments, especially where the water is turbid.
Abundance: Uncommon.
Taxonomic Note: Close to Blastomussa wellsi but normally has fewer and larger corallites as well as differences in skeletal detail.
Taxonomic References: Benzoni, Arrigoni, Waheed et al. (2014);
