This area holds the regular presence of Maracaibo Freshwater Stingray as a resident range-restricted species (A Ortega-Lara pers. obs. 2011; Ortega-Lara et al. 2012).

In 2011, scientific surveys were conducted, using electric fishing, at several sites within the range distribution of this species: middle section of the Zulia River (El Zulia and Puerto Santander communities), the Catatumbo River (La Gabarra community), and the Agualazal Creek (Agualazal village) within this area (Ortega-Lara et al. 2012). The species was only found in this area with five individuals sampled (A Ortega-Lara pers. obs. 2011; Ortega-Lara et al. 2012). According to five fishers from El Zulia and Puerto Santander communities from adjacent zones inside the species distributional region, Maracaibo Freshwater Stingray is very common in this area and this location might function as reproductive site for neonates (A Ortega-Lara pers. obs. 2011). A pregnant female was also documented in this area, indicated by the presence of embryos (Lasso et al. 2013). This is the only known area with regular and predictable observations of Maracaibo Freshwater Stingray, and the area with the most contemporary records for this species.

The Maracaibo Freshwater Stingray is endemic to the Maracaibo Lake Basin, in northwest Venezuela (Zulia, Mérida, and Trujillo states) and northeast Colombia (Norte de Santander Department). In Colombia, this species has been recorded for the middle and lower parts of the Catatumbo River sub-basin (Lasso-Alcalá et al. submitted).

The historical records (Fernández-Yépez & Espinoza 1970; González-Bencomo & Borjas 2003; Casler et al. 2012; Lasso et al. 2013) throughout the Maracaibo River Basin indicate that this species is not commonly found and has an occasional distribution with a low population abundance (Lasso-Alcalá et al. submitted).