Distribution
Circumglobal in tropical and tropically influenced seas. Western Atlantic: continental waters from off Florida to Flower Garden Reef off Texas in the Gulf of Mexico; Caribbean islands and along the coast of South America to Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: eastern and mid Atlantic islands from Madeira to St. Helena; not recorded from African continental waters. Indo-Pacific: South and eastern Africa (excluding the Red Sea) eastward in island habitats through the central Pacific. Eastern Pacific: island habitats from off Baja California to the Galapagos; probably uncommon along coast of Mexico, Central and South America, questionably to Chile.