In the western Atlantic it ranges from Massachusetts in the north along the eastern Coast of the United States and into the Gulf of Mexico as far south as Tamaulipas.

In the Caribbean Sea it is found off Cuba and Barbados and from Santa Marta, Colombia to Isla la Tortuga, Venezuela.

In the eastern Atlantic its distribution reaches north to Spain to Ghana as well as being found around the Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira and St Helena.

[1] Reported for the first time in 1993 in the Western Mediterranean Sea, it has now expanded eastwards from Sicily to the Levant.

[2] The adults occur close to or on the bottom at depths of 55–130 metres (180–427 ft) while the larger juveniles are pelagic or benthic in the waters of the continental shelf and the smaller juveniles are found in oceanic or offshore waters.