Characters: Colonies are massive (especially in shallow water) or encrusting. The surface is usually irregular, with sinuous valleys 4-8 millimetres wide. Columellae are well developed although interlinked. Ambulacral grooves, if present, are fine.
Colour: Greys and browns, usually with walls and valleys of contrasting colours.
Similar Species: Diploria strigosa.
Habitat: Most reef environments, especially shallow slopes and lagoons.
Abundance: Common.
Taxonomic Note: Budd, Fukami, Smith et al. (2012) place Diploria clivosa and Diploria strigosa in the separate genus Pseudodiploria based primarily on the usual absence of the ambulacral groove found in D. labrynthiformis. However, this character is insufficient to warrant generic separation.
Taxonomic References: Roos (1971); Cairns (1982); Zlatarski and Estalella (1982); Veron (2000a);
Identification Guides: Humann (2002);
