[2][3] The cowtail stingray has a widespread distribution in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa and the Red Sea to Japan and Australia, including Melanesia and Micronesia.

[4] This species is the most commonly reported stingray from fresh water in Southeast Asia, and there is a record from the Ganges River some 2,200 km (1,400 mi) from the sea.

[3] The pectoral fin disk of the cowtail stingray is very thick, with almost straight anterior margins and rounded apices, and measuring 1.1-1.3 times as long as wide.

[4][8] Cowtail stingrays are solitary foragers that feed on bony fishes (including leiognathids, Nemipterus, and soles), crustaceans, polychaete worms, sipunculids, and molluscs.

[10] Like other stingrays, reproduction in this species is ovoviviparous, with the embryos sustained in late development by histotroph ("uterine milk") delivered via specialized structures.

[12][13][14] Observations of cowtail stingrays in Shark Bay, Australia, show that this species enters shallow, sandy flats during high tide to rest for a minimum of four hours.

[16] Small to moderate numbers of cowtail stingrays are caught as bycatch in trawls and marketed for meat throughout their range, and their tough skin is used to polish wood.

[8][17][18] A boom in the international shagreen trade since the 1990s, with the material being used in many fashion accessories from wallets to fancy pens, has led to enormous numbers of cowtail stingrays being harvested in Southeast Asia.