Honaunau, Hawaii, 60 feet

Honokohau, Hawaii, 35 feet

Large colonies are uncommon in protected bays of Maui & Hawai'i at scuba depths, rare elsewhere.  Forms solid plates with scattered vertical knobs, becoming large tiered colonies as big as a house.  Tiny white polyps are surrounded by short irregular ridges.  Calices similar to Porites rus but also has a small central rod called a columella.  Gray, pinkish brown or pale blue gray at depth.  Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific.  Formerly known in Hawai'i as Porites convexa and easily confused with Porites rus.

All coral skeletons illustrated are from scientific collections taken prior to 1998.