A large species reaching 1.4 m (4.6 ft) across and 4.1 m (13 ft) long, the leopard whipray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc wider than long and rather thick at the center, with narrowly rounded to angular outer corners.
The leading margins are sinuous and converge to a broadly triangular snout; the tip of the snout protrudes as a distinct, pointed lobe.
In juveniles the disc is nearly equal in length and width.
The eyes are small and immediately followed by much larger, roughly rectangular spiracles.
Between the long, narrow nostrils is a wide, skirt-shaped flap of skin with a finely fringed posterior margin.
The mouth is strongly bow-shaped, with shallow furrows at the corners.
There are four short papillae (nipple-like structures) on the floor of the mouth, as a central pair and a much smaller outer pair; papillae are also found on the lower jaw.
The teeth are small, conical, and blunt, numbering around 59 rows in the upper jaw.
The five pairs of gill slits are S-shaped.
The pelvic fins are fairly slender; males have stout claspers.

The very thin, whip-like tail measures 2.5–3.8 times as long as the disc, and bears usually one serrated stinging spine on top about half a disc width behind the tail base; there are no fin folds.
Adults have a broad band of tiny, closely spaced granules extending from before the eyes, onto the tail.
At the center of the disc, there is a midline row of up to 15 enlarged, heart-shaped denticles, with the two largest ones located one after the other between the "shoulders".
There are no enlarged denticles on the base of the tail.
When born, this species is grayish to brownish above with large black spots, a row of dark spots on either side of the tail until the sting, and beyond it alternating dark and light rings.
The spots hollow out at around a disc width of 55 cm (22 in), such as that large juveniles and adults are mostly covered by a leopard-like pattern of large, dark brown rings on a yellowish-brown background.
The dark and light rings on the tail fade ventrally to become saddles.
The underside is uniformly white.
This ray has two alternate color morphs that have yet to be described.
A large species reaching 1.4 m (4.6 ft) across and 4.1 m (13 ft) long, the leopard whipray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc wider than long and rather thick at the center, with narrowly rounded to angular outer corners. The leading margins are sinuous and converge to a broadly triangular snout; the tip of the snout protrudes as a distinct, pointed lobe. In juveniles the disc is nearly equal in length and width. The eyes are small and immediately followed by much larger, roughly rectangular spiracles. Between the long, narrow nostrils is a wide, skirt-shaped flap of skin with a finely fringed posterior margin. The mouth is strongly bow-shaped, with shallow furrows at the corners. There are four short papillae (nipple-like structures) on the floor of the mouth, as a central pair and a much smaller outer pair; papillae are also found on the lower jaw. The teeth are small, conical, and blunt, numbering around 59 rows in the upper jaw. The five pairs of gill slits are S-shaped. The pelvic fins are fairly slender; males have stout claspers.
The very thin, whip-like tail measures 2.5–3.8 times as long as the disc, and bears usually one serrated stinging spine on top about half a disc width behind the tail base; there are no fin folds. Adults have a broad band of tiny, closely spaced granules extending from before the eyes, onto the tail. At the center of the disc, there is a midline row of up to 15 enlarged, heart-shaped denticles, with the two largest ones located one after the other between the "shoulders". There are no enlarged denticles on the base of the tail. When born, this species is grayish to brownish above with large black spots, a row of dark spots on either side of the tail until the sting, and beyond it alternating dark and light rings. The spots hollow out at around a disc width of 55 cm (22 in), such as that large juveniles and adults are mostly covered by a leopard-like pattern of large, dark brown rings on a yellowish-brown background. The dark and light rings on the tail fade ventrally to become saddles. The underside is uniformly white. This ray has two alternate color morphs that have yet to be described.
Leopard whipray