Southern frilled shark
Chlamydoselachus africana Ebert & Compagno, 2009
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Southern African frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus africana) is a species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae, described in 2009. It is found in the deep waters off southern Angola to southern Namibia. This species is difficult to distinguish from the better-known frilled shark (C. anguineus), but is smaller at maturity and differs in several proportional measurements including head length and mouth width. It seems to be a specialized predator of smaller sharks, using its flexible jaws and numerous needle-like, recurved teeth to capture and swallow them whole. Reproduction is presumably aplacental viviparous, as with the other member of its family.
Wikipedia contributors, Southern African frilled shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:10:29.000524+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chlamydoselachus africana Ebert & Compagno, 2009
- Name authority
- Ebert & Compagno, 2009
- Common name
- Southern frilled shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Hexanchiformes
- Family
- Chlamydoselachidae
- Genus
- Chlamydoselachus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderSqualomorphi
- orderHexanchiformes Compagno, 1973
- familyChlamydoselachidae Garman, 1884
- genusChlamydoselachus Garman, 1884
- speciesChlamydoselachus africana Ebert & Compagno, 2009
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Chlamydoselachus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| frill sharkChlamydoselachus anguineus Garman, 1884 | ChlamydoselachidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Ebert, D. A., & Compagno, L. J. V. (2009). Chlamydoselachus africana, a new species of frilled shark from southern Africa (Chondrichthyes, Hexanchiformes, Chlamydoselachidae). Zootaxa, 2173: 1–18. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2173.1.1 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5XWT6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.