Podabacia crustacea is a plating to foliose scleractinian coral (family Fungiidae) found in shallow to moderately deep Indo-Pacific reef environments, forming thin encrusting or plate-like colonies attached to hard substrates—an unusual growth form within the mostly free-living or solitary Fungiidae family. The species inhabits shaded reef overhangs, slopes, and lagoons where it maintains photosymbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae. Its colonial growth distinguishes it from most other fungiids. Genomic data have been generated for this species and are available in public databases, enabling comparative studies of cnidarian evolution and ecology.