Found from the intertidal zone to a depth of 30 m (100 ft), this species is common throughout the tropical Indian and western Pacific Oceans in nearshore, coral reef-associated habitats.

The bluespotted ribbontail ray was originally described as Raja lymma by Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål, in his 1775 Descriptiones Animalium quae in itinere ad maris australis terras per annos 1772, 1773, et 1774 suscepto collegit, observavit, et delineavit Joannes Reinlioldus Forster, etc., curante Henrico Lichtenstein.

[2] In 1837, German biologists Johannes Peter Müller and Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle created the genus Taeniura for Trygon ornatus, now known to be a junior synonym of this species.

[6] Widespread in the nearshore waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific region, the bluespotted ribbontail ray has a range that extends around the periphery of the Indian Ocean from South Africa to the Arabian Peninsula to Southeast Asia, including Madagascar, Mauritius, Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.

[5][11] One of the most abundant stingrays inhabiting Indo-Pacific reefs, the bluespotted ribbontail ray generally spends the day hidden alone inside caves or under coral ledges or other debris (including from shipwrecks), often with only its tail showing.

[10][14] Breeding in the bluespotted ribbontail ray occurs from late spring to summer; the male follows the female and nips at her disc, eventually biting and holding onto her for copulation.

[12]: 88  Like other stingrays, this species is aplacental viviparous: the embryos are initially sustained by yolk, which later in development is supplemented by histotroph ("uterine milk", containing mucus, fat, and proteins) produced by the mother.

[5][15] Known predators of the bluespotted ribbontail ray include hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops); it is also potentially preyed upon by other large fishes and marine mammals.

[8] Numerous parasites have been identified from this species: the tapeworms Aberrapex manjajiae,[17] Anthobothrium taeniuri,[18] Cephalobothrium taeniurai,[19] Echinobothrium elegans and E. helmymohamedi,[20][21] Kotorelliella jonesi,[22] Polypocephalus saoudi,[23] and Rhinebothrium ghardaguensis and R. taeniuri,[24] the monogeneans Decacotyle lymmae,[25] Empruthotrema quindecima,[26] Entobdella australis,[27] and Pseudohexabothrium taeniurae,[28] the flatworms Pedunculacetabulum ghardaguensis and Anaporrhutum albidum,[29][30] the nematode Mawsonascaris australis,[31] the copepod Sheina orri,[32] and the protozoan Trypanosoma taeniurae.

[12] A higher degree of success has been achieved by public aquariums and a breeding project is maintained by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (for example, a total of 15 pups were born at Lisbon Oceanarium from 2011 to 2013).

[35] The bluespotted ribbontail ray is utilized as food in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia; it is captured intentionally or incidentally using gillnets, longlines, spears, and fence traps.

Although relatively common and widely distributed, this species faces continuing degradation of its coral reef habitat throughout its range, from development and destructive fishing practices using cyanide or dynamite.