[2] H. flavolineatum is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina and Bermuda in the north, along the coast of the United States to the Bahamas, into the southern Gulf of Mexico including the Florida Keys, from Tuxpan in Mexico eastwards along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula to northwestern Cuba, and south into the Caribbean Sea as far as Trinidad.

The juveniles are frequently found in large numbers sheltering in sea grass beds in protected bays, lagoons, and other coastal waters.

They are mainly nocturnal and emerge at night to feed on benthic invertebrates such as molluscs, crustaceans, and polychaetes, foraging over sand flats and among sea-grass beds.

[1] H. flavolineatum has many known parasites,[3] among them is Gnathia marleyi, a small crustacean named in honour of reggae singer Bob Marley.

[5] H. flavolineatum was first formally described in 1823 as Diabasis flavolineatus by French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (1784–1838), with the type locality given as Cuba.