It is found in shallow waters in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

P. puncticeps is a large hermit crab, growing to a length of 8 to 13 cm (3 to 5 in), including the limbs and chelae (claws).

When fully developed, this settles on the seabed and undergoes metamorphosis into a juvenile, which will need to find a small vacant shell in which to live.

The empty shells of the queen conch (Aliger gigas) are often used by this hermit crab,[3] and shells of the Florida horse conch (Triplofusus papillosus), the largest gastropod mollusc in the northern Gulf of Mexico, are favoured by larger individuals, as are the large snails on which this mollusc preys.

[2] A factor limiting populations of hermit crabs in any area is often the availability of empty gastropod shells for them to occupy.