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| Global distribution. |
| Skeletal detail. Showing corallites. |
| Surface view of the polyps. Great Barrier Reef, Australia Photograph: Charlie Veron |
| The species is readily recognised by the uniform length of the polyp tentacles. Great Barrier Reef, Australia Photograph: Charlie Veron |
| Colonies are commonly hemispherical, especially in shallow water. Great Barrier Reef, Australia Photograph: Ed Lovell |
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Characters: Colonies are massive, hemispherical or irregular. Corallites are rounded with thin walls and have six prominent paliform lobes. Polyps are closely compacted, uniform in length and have tentacles of uniform length. Colour: Uniform blue (which may photograph pink), green or brown, sometimes with white tips to the tentacles. Similar species: Goniopora minor, which has thick pali forming a crown. See also G. pearsoni; and G. norfolkensis which lacks paliform lobes. Habitat: Subtidal reef environments, especially lagoons. Abundance: Common.
Source reference: Veron (2000). Taxonomic reference: Veron and Pichon (1982). Identification guides: Veron (1986), Sheppard and Sheppard (1991), Nishihira and Veron (1995).
