 Sand bubbler crabs are widespread across the Indo-Pacific region, where they occur abundantly on sandy beaches in the tropics and sub-tropics.Sand bubbler crabs live in burrows in the sand, where they remain during high tide.When the tide is out, they emerge on to the surface of the sand, and pass the sand through their mouthparts, eating detritus and plankton, and discarding the processed sand as pellets, which cover the beach.