About Montipora patula Verrill, 1869
Montipora patula Verrill, 1869 forms small encrusting colonies or tiered plates. These colonies are brownish with lighter borders; their plates have free edges and can reach over 2 meters across. Corallites are generally small and irregular in height, and small, usually tan papillae surround the corallites. The polyps of this species are typically purple. Montipora patula is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, and it prefers shallow reef environments, living along reef flats.
