It ranges from South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and the Seychelles in the west to the Philippines and Indonesia in the east, and southward to the northern coast of Australia.

It is flattened horizontally with a wide central disc and the head is short with small cephalic fins.

[4][5] The shortfin devil ray feeds on plankton and possibly also on small fish and squid.

Targeted fisheries occur in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and this ray is caught in Indonesia especially for its gill rakers.

The flesh is used for human consumption, the skin is dried and deep fried, and the cartilage is used as a filler in the manufacture of shark fin soup.