Identification: the rostrum, slightly longer than the carapace, is strongly upturned and carries 1 or 2 spines on top; the carapace has 3 or 4 further dorsal spines and 8 to 10 long ventral spines. Tufts of setae cover the back of the carapace and the abdomen. Colour varies: a red, blue or brown ground mottled with brown or green, legs banded brown or blue; by day it is often brown with green spots, and it turns mostly red at night. The male has elongated claws, longer than the body; the female has a brush of setae on the first pair of legs and denser tufts.
In the wild it lives in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Madagascar and Mozambique and east through the Persian Gulf, India, South-East Asia and the South Pacific, Australia included, to Hawaii. In 2013 it was found off Lebanon, probably having arrived through the Suez Canal. It sometimes lives on reefs, more often among corals and coral rubble in lagoons, rarely below 12 m. Nocturnal and fairly inactive, it relies on camouflage; when threatened it darts into a hiding place or escapes quickly over some distance.
Trade: in high demand in the hobby, it fetches good prices. In Europe the animals sold usually come from the Red Sea, in North America from Hawaii. The species is not evaluated by the IUCN and not listed by CITES. The sources consulted do not describe its reproduction.
