It has a native range which covers the north-western Indian Ocean and it has invaded the Mediterranean Sea by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.

It has highly developed, robust chelipeds and are thinly coated with hair, granulated, show a carpus spine on the inner margin and three small lumps on the distal portion.

[3] Charybdis longicollis is found in the north western Indian Ocean in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Subsequently, examination of specimens in museums showed that the species had become established in Turkish waters some time prior to its identification in 1959.

[5] It is a benthophagic species which prefers to feed on slow moving or stationary prey such as molluscs, crustacean and fish, the ingestion of microplastic beads has also been noted.