[1] Members of the family are colonial hermatypic (reef-building) corals.

They are variable in size and form but most are massive, laminar or ramose as well as branching and encrusting.

The corallites are compact with very little coenosteum covering the skeleton.

Veron considers the family is not a natural grouping but is a miscellaneous collection of genera that do not fit well elsewhere.

[1][2] The World Register of Marine Species includes the following genera in the family:[1][3]