Subsequently, in 1881, the Australian zoologist William John Macleay described Myliobatis australis from the waters of Southern Australia as a new species.

[1] The New Zealand eagle ray is a cartilaginous fish with a roughly circular disc-like body, a projecting frog-like head, large fleshy pectoral fins and a long tail armed with a spine that is capable of injecting venom.

This fish can grow to a maximum width of about 150 cm (60 in), with females being rather larger than males.

It is usually found on the inner continental shelf, on sandy flats and seagrass meadows, in estuaries and bays and near rocky reefs.

[1] A benthopelagic species, it feeds on such invertebrates as clams, oysters, crabs and worms that it finds on the seabed.