Endemic to northeastern Brazil, adults of this species inhabit shallow coral and sandstone reefs while the young are also found near beaches and in estuaries.

The authors originally intended to name the ray Dasyatis macrophthalma, but at the eleventh hour it was discovered that this name was a nomen nudum already used in an earlier paper by Ivan Sazima and Rodrigo Moura.

[4] The range of the Brazilian large-eyed stingray extends along the coast of northeastern Brazil from Parcel Manoel Luís off Maranhão state to southern Bahia, though more sampling may reveal a wider distribution for this species.

Occurring at depths of 2–15 m (6.6–49.2 ft), adult rays are closely associated with coral or sandstone reefs on the continental shelf, and have also been observed around shipwrecks.

[1] The Brazilian large-eyed stingray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc approximately as long as wide, with rounded outer corners and slightly concave front margins.

[2] The disc is mostly smooth, except for a row of 2–18 small, thornlike dermal denticles along the dorsal midline in adults and a single thorn on each "shoulder" in males.

[2] Divers at Arquipelago de Abrolhos off Bahia state have reported that adult Brazilian large-eyed stingrays "behaved docilely" toward them.

[2] This species is caught by artisanal fisheries in limited numbers, and is also collected for the private aquarium trade in Bahia; the impact of these practices on the population is unknown.