Characters: Colonies are encrusting to massive and are usually small. Corallites are subplocoid and circular, with thick walls. Septa have rounded evenly spaced teeth. Colonies have thick fleshy tissue over the skeleton, but this tissue does not form concentric folds. Septal dentations appear as evenly spaced rows of bead-like tissue down the septal margins.
Colour: Uniform grey or green, sometimes mottled.
Similar species: Acanthastrea echinata, which has more fleshy corallites with tissue forming concentric folds, and larger less regular septal teeth. These species are not easily separated unless they occur together.
