It is found in various parts of the world living on rocky coasts and harbour walls just above high water mark.

The head has a pair of long antennae which exceed the length of the body, and two unstalked, bulging eyes.

It has spread to many other temperate and subtropical parts of the world including the Red Sea, the eastern seaboard of the United States and Hawaii.

[3] Its natural habitat is rocks and cliffs in the splash zone just above high water mark where it lives in damp crevices.

The impact of this on competing organisms and its contribution to the diet of predators has not been properly evaluated, however the NEMESIS database suggests it is not likely to be of much significance.