It grows to approximately 45 centimeters (18 in) long, and 20 cm (8 in) wide,[3] with colouration ranging from dark brown to reddish orange.

[2] This species is found in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from northeastern Brazil to North Carolina.

They also eat benthic worms,[4] juvenile snake eels, sea anemones, small bony fish and various crustaceans.

In July, 2016 the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducted a thorough review of the status of the lesser electric ray because the original study used to justify the critically endangered designation was based on a very small sample size.

This updated status review conducted by NMFS incorporated fisheries dependent and independent data and concluded that the population is "not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range and is not likely to become so within the foreseeable future".