Reports of Aurantilaria aurantiaca from northern Brazil (Amapa, Para and Maranhao to Espirito Santo) are numerous (e.g. Kempf & Matthews 1968; Testud 1974; Matthews et al. 1977; de Oliveira et al 1981; Matthews-Cascon et al 1989; Mello & Costa 1994), and the species is also known from the Abrolhos Archipelago (Petuch 1987). Aurantilaria aurantiaca was considered endemic to Brazil until Khomasurya (1980) documented occurrences at Carriacou and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Soon thereafter, Sutty (1986) reported specimens from St. Vincent, confirming the species' occurrence in the southern Lesser Antilles, for which we provide additional records. Mallard and Robin (2005: pl. 6; 2017: 189, 190, figs. 2, 4) and Robin (2008: 207, fig. 11) labeled figured specimens as being from "Gulf of Mexico" and "Honduras," but we consider those records doubtful. A map by Mallard and Robin (2017: 189) depicting a continuous range from northeastern Brazil through the western Caribbean to the southwestern Gulf of Mexico is similarly incorrect. We know of no credible records of A. aurantiaca from the Caribbean coasts of South and Central America or anywhere else north or west of the Lesser Antilles.
Massemin et al. (2009) characterized A, aurantiaca as rarely trawled in French Guiana and, apparently unaware of records from the Lesser Antilles, proposed that the species was at the northern limit of its range there. Likewise, we found no record of A. aurantiaca from Suriname or Guyana. Scarcity of the species in the Guianas may reflect scarcity of reefal habitat there. Sutty (1986: 64) reported that in the Grenadines the species is a reef dweller, favoring zones where currents are strong, waters clear and the fauna generally rich. Some other reports indicate an affinity for rocky bottoms and coral reefs (e.g. Fausto-Filho et al. 1966; Rios 1975; Kaicher 1978; Coltro & Coltro 1997), but the species also has been taken on sand bottoms. The Conquiliologistas do Brasil website reports the depth range of A, aurantiaca as 0-70 m, slightly less than the 80 m depth reported by Kempf and Matthews (1968) and confirmed herein.