(Dana, 1852)
Carapace very broad (breadth about 2.5 times length); surface with elevated granular areas; regions well recognizable; front with 4 low set and rounded lobes, outer pair very much broader than inner ones; antero-lateral borders with 6-9 teeth, last one very large and projecting obliquely backwards; postero-lateral junction elevated and forming an angle of about 90°. Antero-external angle of merus of third maxillipeds markedly produced into a lobe. Chelipeds very long and slender (more than 2.5 times as long as carapace), merus with 1 spine at postero-distal border, anterior border with 4 spines; carpus with 2 spines; upper surface of palm with 2 distal spines, lower surface smooth. Posterior border of merus of swimming leg very finely serrated, remaining joints smooth. (Türkay 1995)
Postero-lateral junction of carapace angular or spinous; front distinctly 4-toothed or 4-lobed, median frontal teeth very much shorter than, and less prominent than, laterals; lateral frontal teeth triangular, projecting, and typically sharp; carapace (apparently) without conspicuous tubercular elevations within the granular patches; posterior border of arm of cheliped with single spine; upper surface of palm of cheliped with 2 distal spines, or 1 spine and 1 tubercle; chelipeds of moderate length and robustness, less than 2.5 times the carapace length. Japanese form has chelipeds very long and slender, 2.5 times the carapace length, and may represent a separate species. (Davie 1999)
Type locality: Ovalau, Fiji.
Range: Red Sea (Klunzinger, 1913); Gulf of Aden - Djibouti (Apel & Spiridonov, 1998); Socotra; Seychelles - (Rathbun, 1911), Mahé (Stephenson, 1976); Madagascar - Tuléar (Crosnier & Thomassin, 1974); Mauritius (Alcock, 1899a, Bouvier, 1915b, Michel, 1964); Persian Gulf (Alcock, 1899a, Apel & Spiridonov, 1998); Gulf of Oman (Apel & Spiridonov, 1998); Maldives - (Alcock, 1899a), Male (Rathbun, 1902b); Chagos Archipelago (Rathbun, 1911); Sri Lanka; Andaman Islands (Alcock, 1899a); Japan - Amami-Oshima and Iriomote-jima (Minei, 1971), Shimoda (Sakai, 1939, 1976a); Indonesia - Padaodp Group, Irian Jaya (Stephenson, 1975); Australia - One Tree Island, Capricorn Group (Stephenson & Rees, 1968b), Western Australia; Lord Howe Island (Stephenson & Campbell, 1959); New Caledonia; Tongatabu (Miers, 1886); Fiji (Dana, 1852); Hawaiian Island - Honolulu, Hilo and Kauai (Rathbun, 1906), Hawaii and Honolulu (Stephenson, 1972a); 3-50 m.