Dardanus pedunculatus has a broad distribution in the Indo-Pacific region, from the Seychelles in the west to Japan and Hawaii in the east.

[1] D. pedunculatus usually lives on coral reefs and in the intertidal zone, at depths of 1–27 metres (3–89 ft).

[1] It usually carries sea anemones on its shell, which it uses to protect itself from its main predator, cephalopods of the genus Octopus.

[2] Hermit crabs are popular pets in marine aquaria, and Dardanus pedunculatus is occasionally kept, although the species has not been successfully reared in captivity.

[3] Dardanus pedunculatus was first described by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst as Cancer pedunculatus, in his 1804 work Versuch einer Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse nebst einer Systematischen Beschreibung ihrer verschiedenen Arten;[1] the type locality is not known.