Frilled shark
Scientific name: Chlamydoselachus anguineus Garman, 1884
Overview
The frilled shark, also known as the lizard shark, is one of the two extant species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae. The frilled shark is considered a living fossil, because of its primitive, anguilliform (eel-like) physical traits, such as a dark-brown color, amphistyly, and a 2.0 m (6.6 ft)–long body, which has dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins located towards the tail. The common name, frilled shark, derives from the fringed appearance of the six pairs of gill slits at the shark's throat.
From the Wikipedia article “Frilled shark”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
Common names
Also known in English as frill shark, Lizard Shark, Scaffold Shark.
Names in other languages (12)
- Arabic
- قرش مزركش
- Chinese
- 擬鰻鮫, 棘沙, 皺鰓鯊
- French
- requin lézard, requin-lézard
- German
- Kragenhai, Krausenhai, Schlangenhai
- Indonesian
- Hiu berjumbai
- Japanese
- ラブカ
- Persian
- کوسه چیندار
- Portuguese
- tubarão-cobra
- Russian
- акула плащеносная, Плащеносная акула
- Spanish
- tiburón anguila, tiburón de gorgera
- Turkish
- Fırfırlı köpek balığı, fırfırlı köpekbalığı
- Urdu
- فریلڈ شارک
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q194312, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Frilled shark”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Chris_huh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026