Although there are relatively few species of
Coenobita, individuals are numerous in tropical and subtropical
maritime regions particularly supralittoral areas and small
islands, although some penetrate further inland. Certain species
are restricted to beaches (e.g. C. perlatus (H. Milne Edwards,
1837), C. scaevola (Förskal 1775), C. spinosus (H. Milne
Edwards, 1837), C. cavipes (Stimpson, 1838) while several
other species may penetrate long distances inland, e.g. C.
clypeatus (Herbst, 1791) on Curaçao, C. rubescens (Greeff) and
C. brevimanus (Dana, 1852) in rainforest, C. compressus (H.
Milne Edwards) (de Wilde; 1973; Burggren and McMahon,
1988). Coenobita rugosus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) may live
on the beach or penetrate inland in situations where fresh water
is available (Yamaguchi, 1938; Vannini, 1976).