At first Neocyema erythrosoma was only known from the southeast Atlantic Ocean near South Africa where, in 1971, the first two specimens were caught at depths of between . In 2006, during a deep water NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service biodiversity survey, a research vessel collected a further specimen near the Bear Seamount off the coast of New England at a depth of about .
Initially, Neocyema erythrosoma was only known from the southeast Atlantic Ocean near South Africa, where two specimens were caught in 1971 at depths ranging from . In 2006, during a deep-sea survey conducted by NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, a research vessel captured another specimen near the Bear Seamount off the coast of New England at a depth of approximately .