 This species was thought to have a worldwide distribution but with the revision of the genus "Onychoteuthis" in 2010, it is now accepted that "Onychoteuthis banksii" is restricted to the central and northern Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico while a recently described species, "Onychoteuthis horstkottei", is found in the Pacific Ocean.The type locality is the Gulf of Guinea.The maximum mantle length is .