Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849
Pachyseris involuta (1)
Type species: Pachyseris rugosa (Lamarck, 1801)
Total number of species estimated: 2
Characteristics: Corals zooxanthellate; encrusting to foliaceous and with calices at upper side (unifacial) or as upright laminae with polyps at two sides (bifacial). Polyps (corallites) in long rows parallel to the outer coral margin, with distinct walls between the rows. larger than 5 mm in diameter, shallow or deeply immersed, with columella consisting of fused trabeculae (Veron and Pichon, 1979). Colour cream, light to dark brown or greenish; some species show a white coral margin.
Ecology: Most common on reef slopes.
Range: Tropical Indo-Pacific and west Atlantic.
Additional remarks: The distinction between foliaceous Pavona and Leptoseris is not clear.
Key references: Veron and Pichon, 1979; Veron, 1986, 2000.