[7] Beginning at the third crab stage, mature females can be differentiated from males by the large rounded sodomites which make up their abdominal plates and form a cavity to hold eggs.

[7] P. tuberculata is characterized by a low number of post-larval stages which results in a shorter life span than other benthic crab species.

[10] The ability of female crabs to carry fertilized eggs days after the puberty molt aids in shorter generation times.

[11] P. tuberculata is native to the pacific coast of North America from San Francisco Bay to Panama,[5] but has spread to coastal waters of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Japan, and New Zealand.

[3] In the northwest pacific, populations of P. tuberculata have been established in the waters of China and Japan mostly due to naval shipping after World War II.

[11] In eutrophic waters such as Tokyo Bay, P. tuberculata is abundant from the intertidal zone up to 80 meters of depth, with inner-bay populations being replenished each fall with larvae from crabs in the outer-bay, which do not experience the hypoxic die offs.

[5] Populations of P. tuberculata are limited in the shallow waters of Port Phillip Bay Australia due to predation by globefish.