The frilled shark is one of two extant species of shark in the family. This rare species is found over the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope generally near the bottom. However there is evidence of the frilled shark not being near the bottom. It has been caught as deep as 5,150 feet. In Suruga Bay near Japan it is most common at depths of 160-660 feet. The frilled shark has often been called a "living fossil".
The frilled shark can reach 6.6 feet long and has a dark brown eel like body with the dorsal pelvic and anal fins placed far back. Its common name comes from its frilly or fringed appearance of its six pairs of gill slits with the first pair meeting across the throat.