De Blainville, 1830
Montipora aequituberculata (2)
Type species: Montipora verrucosa (Lamarck, 1816)
Total number of species estimated: 20
Characteristics: Corals zooxanthellate, encrusting and forming uni- or bifacial plates, which in some species may serve as base for irregelarly shaped branches or columns without clear axial polyps. Polyps immersed, evenly distributed and small (less than 1.5 mm in diameter, in most species much less). The reticulum structures of the coenosteum may consist of tuberculae, papillae or ridges (for examples see Veron, 1986: 92-93). Colour brown (due to zooxanthellae), in some species with variable additional pigmentation (like purple, red or violet).
Ecology: Common on reef flats and slopes.
Range: widespread in the Indo-West Pacific
Additional remarks: This genus is second in the number of reef-dwelling coral species (after Acropora).
Key references: Veron and Wallace, 1984; Veron, 1986, 2000.