Frilled lizard
Chlamydosaurus kingii Gray, 1825
The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also called the frilled dragon or frill-necked lizard, is a reptile in the family Agamidae and the subfamily Amphibolurinae. It is a small lizard with a representative adult body mass of 449.1 g, reported values from 400 g to 870 g, and a body length of 22.33 cm.
Quick facts about the frilled lizard
It reaches sexual maturity at 1 year, produces 10 young or eggs per clutch with 1.4 clutches per year, and its eggs incubate for 76 days. The IUCN Red List assesses the frilled lizard as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 9.9 years.
- Weight
- 400 g – 870 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 22.3 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 9.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 76 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 10src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.4src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the frilled lizard?
Photos of the frilled lizard
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
.jpg){kind=link}
_(8692607976).jpg){kind=link}
Frill_neck_lizard.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the frilled lizard live?
Not recorded
What is the frilled lizard?
The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also known commonly as the frilled agama, frillneck lizard, frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea and is the only member of the genus Chlamydosaurus. Its common names refer to the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. The frilled lizard grows to 90 cm (35 in) from head to tail tip and can weigh 600 g (1.3 lb). Males are larger and more robust than females. The lizard's body is generally grey, brown, orangish-brown, or black in colour. The frills have red, orange, yellow, or white colours.
The frilled lizard is largely arboreal, spending most of its time in trees. Its diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates. It is more active during the wet season, when it spends more time near or on the ground, and is less observed during the dry season, during which it seeks shade in the branches of the upper canopy. It breeds in the late dry season and early wet season. The lizard uses its frill to scare off predators and display to other individuals. The species is considered to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
From the Wikipedia article “Frilled lizard” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frilled_lizard&oldid=1385023025), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the frilled lizard sound like?
Is the frilled lizard endangered?
The frilled lizard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the frilled lizard classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyAgamidae
- genusChlamydosaurus
- SpeciesChlamydosaurus kingii Gray, 1825
Synonyms Chlamydosaurus kingii mickpughi, Chlamydosaurus kingii pughae, Chlamydosaurus mickpughi, Chlamydosaurus pughae
Other names and names in other languages (24)
- Frill-necked lizardEnglish
- Frill-necked lizardEnglish
- Frilled agamaEnglish
- Frilled dragonEnglish
- Frillneck lizardEnglish
- clamidosauriuAsturian
- Плашчаносная яшчаркаBelarusian
- llangardaix de gorgueraCatalan
- agama límcováCzech
- KraveagameDanish
- KragenechseGerman
- Clamidosaurio de KingSpanish
- Clamidosauro de KingGalician
- galléros gyíkHungarian
- Soa PayungIndonesian
- ClamidosauroItalian
- エリマキトカゲJapanese
- 목도리도마뱀Korean
- agama kołnierzastaPolish
- Lagarto-de-golaPortuguese
- Плащеносная ящерицаRussian
- กิ้งก่าแผงคอThai
- 褶傘蜥Chinese
- 傘蜥 斗篷蜥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the frilled lizard
Other species in the same family Agamidae.
Thorny devil
Moloch horridus
Central bearded dragon
Pogona vitticeps
Water dragon
Physignathus cocincinus
Common agama
Agama agama
Bloodsucker
Calotes versicolor
Sinai agama
Pseudotrapelus sinaitus
CompareFrilled lizard vs Thorny devilFrilled lizard vs Central bearded dragonFrilled lizard vs Water dragonFrilled lizard vs Common agama
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a frilled lizard?
The frilled lizard is a reptile, a lizard in the order Squamata and the family Agamidae.
How big is a frilled lizard?
The frilled lizard is a small lizard with a body length of 22.33 cm and a representative adult body mass of 449.1 g, with reported values from 400 g to 870 g.
Is the frilled lizard endangered?
No. The frilled lizard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a frilled lizard live?
The frilled lizard has a lifespan of 9.9 years.
How many eggs does a frilled lizard lay?
The frilled lizard produces 10 young or eggs per clutch, with 1.4 clutches per year. Its eggs incubate for 76 days.
What is the scientific name of the frilled lizard?
The scientific name of the frilled lizard is Chlamydosaurus kingii. It was named by Gray, 1825.
What are other names for the frilled lizard?
The frilled lizard is also called the frilled agama, frilled dragon, frillneck lizard and frill-necked lizard.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/frilled-lizard
“Frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/frilled-lizard.
@misc{frilled_lizard_2026,
title = {Frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/frilled-lizard},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}