This species was described with no type specimen and locality, but it has been presumed to be from the Arabian Gulf (Wallace 1967, Compagno 1986, Carvalho et al. 2002). It is considered to be one of the most widely distributed electric rays of the Western Indian Ocean (Carvalho et al. 2002, Last et al. 2016). However, the status of this species is uncertain as it is possibly a species-complex (Last et al. 2016). It is highly variable and confused with the Panther Torpedo (Torpedo panthera) (Last et al. 2016). The present account is therefore provisional, and in the event that species within the complex are better delineated, reassessment will be required (this may result in the status of electric rays being revised upwards, on the basis of small populations with localized distributions).