This parasite has a wide distribution, mirroring that of its host sharks.
It is known from:
The preferred hosts are fast swimming, lamniform sharks, including the blue, mako and white sharks, but it has also been reported from the whale shark and from a bony fish, ocean sunfish (Kabata).
Shark populations are declining so their parasites, such as Anthosoma, will be affected by this decline. However, parasites are rarely accorded any conservation status.