A coastal marine and estuarine benthic species associated with sand flats, seagrass beds, and coral reefs at depths of 0 to 53 m. Commonly buries in soft sediments.

Litters of 2 to 10 pups are born at 17 to 34 cm disc width (DW), after a gestation of 4.5 to 7.5 months, and maturity is reached at 51 and 75 to 80 cm DW (males and females, respectively). Reproduction is biannual in captivity, annual in the wild. Maximum size is 150 cm DW (Henningsen 2000, McEachran and de Carvalho 2002, D. Grubbs and J. Musick unpublished data).

The diet of this species has been studied in the Bahamas (Randall 1967, Gilliam and Sullivan 1993), Brazil (Queiroz et al. 1993) and the eastern USA (D. Grubbs, unpublished data) and consists of benthic and infaunal invertebrates and demersal teleosts. The most common prey are decapod crustaceans such as alphaeid, penaeid and callianasid shrimp and brachyuran crabs.

Life history parameters
Age at maturity (years): Unknown.
Size at maturity (disc width): 75 to 80 cm DW (McEachran and de Carvalho 2002) (female); 51 cm DW (McEachran and de Carvalho 2002) (male).
Longevity (years): Unknown.
Maximum size (disc width): 150 cm DW (McEachran and de Carvalho 2002).
Size at birth: 17 to 19 cm DW (McEachran and de Carvalho 2002, D. Grubbs and J. Musick unpublished data); mean 23.8 cm DW, range 20 to 34 cm DW (in captivity) (Henningsen 2000).
Average reproductive age (years): Unknown.
Gestation time: Mean 5.8 months; range 4.5 to 7.5 months (in captivity) (Henningsen 2000).
Reproductive periodicity: Biannual (in captivity) (Henningsen 2000); Annual (Florida and Virginia, USA) (D. Grubbs unpublished data).
Average annual fecundity or litter size: 2?7 (D. Grubbs and J. Musick unpublished data); mean 4.2, maximum 10 (in captivity) (Henningsen 2000).
Annual rate of population increase: Unknown.
Natural mortality: Unknown.