It is found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean as small, solid mounds or encrusting sheets.

[3] Occasionally it occurs as small calcareous pebbles that roll around in seagrass meadows or as loose flat discs in shallow rocky places.

Its range extends from Bermuda, the Bahamas, Florida and the Caribbean Sea south to Brazil and it also occurs in the eastern Atlantic off the coast of Africa.

[3] It is an adaptable species and in the Indian River Lagoon it has been found to tolerate temperatures varying between 13 °C (55 °F) and 31 °C (88 °F) and a wide range of salinities.

Well developed planula larvae have been found being brooded inside female polyps shortly before the full moon.