Characters: Colonies are submassive or encrusting. Corallites are cerioid to submeandroid. The latter usually have less than four centres. Walls are thick, paliform lobes are well developed.
Colour: Usually pale brown or pink but may be dark brown in deep or turbid water.
Similar Species: Goniastrea edwardsi, which has markedly smaller corallites and G. australensis which has valleys of similar width but is usually fully meandroid. See also the merulinid Merulina scheeri.
Habitat: Most shallow water environments.
Abundance: Common.
Taxonomic References: Wijsman-Best (1972); Veron, Pichon and Wijsman-Best (1977);
Identification Guides: Randall and Myers (1983); Veron (1986a); Sheppard and Sheppard (1991); Nishihira and Veron (1995); Turak and DeVantier (2011b);
