Meandrina braziliensis is a coral that looks superficially similar to Manicina areolata but differs by having much smoother skeletal elements and a plate-shaped columella. These characters mean that it is a member of the family Meandrinidae.
During Miocene and Pliocene (24-1.6 million years ago), Meandrina braziliensis was more common than Manicina areolata on reef flats in the Caribbean region, but during the Early Pleistocene (about 1 million years ago) it became extinct in the Caribbean, however survives as a refugee in northeastern Brazil.