Its range extends from Madagascar and the east coast of Africa to Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.

[1] There are two subspecies; P. l. longipes is known from East Africa to Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia, while P. l. bispinosus is known from Japan, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and the east coast of Australia.

It feeds on molluscs and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates and defends itself by producing audible sounds whose characteristics have been analysed by Meyer-Rochow & Penrose in 1977.

[4] Females carry a large clutch of small eggs tucked under their abdomen for several months.

The fisheries are mostly small in scale with the methods used including lobster pots, spear-fishing, tangle-nets and traps.