It is characterized by a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc much wider than long, a tail that is broad and flattened in front of the spine but whip-like behind, and large white spots over its back.

In 1908, Scottish zoologist Nelson Annandale described the smalleye stingray as Trygon microps, in the second volume of Records of the Indian Museum.

Later authors synonymized the genus Trygon with Dasyatis,[2][3] although molecular data may suggest it is actually more closely related to the Neotropical stingrays (Potamotrygonidae) and round rays (Urotrygonidae).

[4] Megatrygon has since been created and assigned as the genus for this species,[5] The smalleye stingray is widely but possibly discontinuously distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, having been first tagged in Tofo in Mozambique,[6] and reported in Malé in the Maldives, the coasts of India and Bangladesh, the Gulf of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the Arafura Sea, and possibly the Philippines.

[3] The smalleye stingray has a distinctive shape among its family: the pectoral fin disc is more than 1.4 times wider than long, with the outer corners forming obtuse angles.

The dorsal surface bears characteristic large white spots beside the eyes, around the disc center, and in a row on either side about two-thirds of the way to the pectoral fin tips.

[1] It is only known to be encountered with any regularity at the reefs off Tofo Beach,[3] where in 2009 the first living individual was recorded underwater by a BBC film crew working with Andrea Marshall and the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF).

Intensive fishing occurs in much of this ray's range and its large size may render it vulnerable, though if it favors deeper water that may confer some protection.