This species is only sporadically common at Kwajalein. It is easiest to find along sometimes shaded walls and overhangs just on the lagoon side of shallow interisland reefs that see a lot of water movement at higher tides, often at depths of 2m or less. Scattered colonies can be found on other lagoon reefs and pinnacles throughout the atoll. A large section of the western slope of a lagoon pinnacle on the lagoon side of Legan Island was almost solid Briareum, certainly the largest patch we have seen in the Marshalls. This is often figured in references as Pachylcavularia violacea.
This shows the purple polyp bases that make appropriate the "violaceum" name.
Possibly a darker colored variety.
Created 15 October 2020