Craterastrea levis Head 1983

So far this genus has been found only in the Red Sea and Chagos Archipelago. It occurs only deep on the reef slope. In Chagos, it provides substantial cover (over 50%) on seaward reef slopes of some atoll slopes at depths of 45 to 60 metres and probably more, while in the Red Sea it likewise occurred on the deeper reef. Probably it is more widespread than present records suggest, but is perhaps rarely noticed because of the depth at which it lives. The coral forms thick plates which project out from the substrate. The plates may exceed 40 cm across. It is grey brown when living, though no photographs of the living coral are known. (Live specimens don't look much different to the bleached skeleton!) The surface is remarkably smooth in appearance. It contains closely packed beaded septo-costae, and small, scattered calices. Many specimens have very few calices at all. (Sheppard, 1998 )