Befitting its name, the crossback stingaree has a distinctive dark pattern on its back, consisting of a midline stripe that is crossed by three transverse bars.

The species is aplacental viviparous, with the developing embryos sustained to term by histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother.

French naturalist Bernard Lacépède originally described the crossback stingaree as Raja cruciata, in an 1804 volume of the scientific journal Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle Paris.

[4] In their 1838–41 Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen, German biologists Johannes Müller and Jakob Henle placed this species in the newly created genus Urolophus.

[5] The Victorian and Tasmanian subpopulations of the crossback stingaree differ markedly in habitat preferences and merit further taxonomic investigation, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In addition to morphological similarities, the two may also hybridize (see below) and, in a 2007 study of 388 fishes by Robert Ward and Bronwyn Holmes, were the only species that could not be distinguished on the basis of their cytochrome c gene sequences, attesting to a close evolutionary relationship.

[1][7] By contrast, rays of the Tasmanian subpopulation are usually found over muddy bottoms in very shallow bays and large estuaries, occasionally penetrating into brackish water.

[1][8] The crossback stingaree's pectoral fin disc is slightly wider than long and oval in shape, with the anterior margins nearly straight and converging at a very obtuse angle.

The crossback stingaree is grayish to yellowish brown above with a pattern of dark markings, including a stripe running along the midline and crossed by three transverse bars: one near the eyes, one over the gill region, and one over the center of the disc.

[7] Generally nocturnal, the crossback stingaree spends long stretches of the day lying motionless on the sea floor, partially or completely buried in sediment.

Off Victoria, over three-quarters of prey consumed are crustaceans, of which isopods (particularly Natalolana woodjonesi and N. wowine) comprise the majority and amphipods and decapods the remainder.

Young rays under 30 cm (12 in) across feed mainly on smaller isopods, amphipods, and shrimps; with age a progressively greater diversity of larger prey, such as penaeid prawns, priapulids, and polychaetes, are incorporated into its diet.

[10] The IUCN has listed the crossback stingaree under Least Concern, as it is exposed to minimal fishing activity in the Bass Strait and off western Tasmania, which constitute most of its distribution.

Off New South Wales, it is caught incidentally in otter trawls and gillnets used by the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF).

While the SESSF has caused an overall decline in deepwater stingarees within its area of operations, it only affects a small portion of this species' range.