The majority of stranding records for this species occur in the western North Atlantic along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Strandings have occurred to a lesser extent in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Despite its name, only a few specimens have stranded in European waters. Other eastern Atlantic stranding locations include the Canary Islands and Guinea-Bissau. South Atlantic Ocean records are reported from Namibia, Brazil and Ascension Island. It appears to prefer the deeper waters of the tropical and warm temperate Atlantic.