# Frilled lizard (*Chlamydosaurus kingii*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/frilled-lizard  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 400 g – 870 g |
| Length | 21 cm – 22.3 cm |
| Lifespan | 9.9 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 15 years |
| Main food | arthropods |
| Habitat | grassland, shrubland |
| Egg incubation | 76 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 24 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 – 3 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Arboreal |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Agamidae
- genus: Chlamydosaurus
- species: *Chlamydosaurus kingii* Gray, 1825

Synonyms: *Chlamydosaurus kingii mickpughi*, *Chlamydosaurus kingii pughae*, *Chlamydosaurus mickpughi*, *Chlamydosaurus pughae*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/frilled-lizard