Dipsastraea maxima

Appearance

Colonies are massive and usually small. Corallites have well defined walls. Septa are regular, thickened at the wall and with conspicuous paliform lobes forming a crown around the columella. Polyps may be fleshy.
Colour: Brown or yellow-brown with dull green or white oral discs.

Naming

Synonym: Favia maxima. It has been reclassified not as Favia from Faviidae family but as Dipsastraea from the Merulinidae family.

Distribution

Indo-pacific from Thailand and Malaysia to New Caledoonia and Australia.

Behavior

The polyps are large and fleshy and active at night.

Habitat

Upper reef slopes.

Food

They live in symbiosis with zooxanthellae whose products mostly nourish them.