--- title: "Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "Australian dragon lizard that flares a bone-and-cartilage neck frill to startle predators, and if the bluff fails, runs off on its hind legs." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/frilled-lizard-1.webp" published: "2026-09-01" updated: "2026-09-27" --- # Frilled Lizard (*Chlamydosaurus kingii*) > **Status**: Checked against 9 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: Australian dragon lizard that flares a bone-and-cartilage neck frill to startle predators, and if the bluff fails, runs off on its hind legs. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Classic Hard Rock & Southern Blues // Wolfmother, "Joker And The Thief" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/7ISL3LO8AWP3fKIXunvqTa) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr0SqIAFohk) > **Vibe Match**: Explosive high-octane guitar riffs, galloping rhythmic drive, and theatrical rock swagger. The frilled lizard flares its frill with movements that amplify the startle, and when the bluff fails it bolts on its hind legs alone. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Chlamydosaurus kingii* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2017-3.rlts.t170384a21644690.en)) - **Superpower**: Raises a neck frill held up by hyoid bones and cartilages, with its mouth open, in a startle display; if that fails it usually runs for a tree on its hind legs. - **Habitat**: Grassy woodland and dry forest across northern Australia and southern New Guinea - **Diet**: Mostly small invertebrates, with harvester termites (Drepanotermes) a major part; known to take small mammals and pieces of meat - **Tags**: reptile, savanna, insectivore, bipedal, display ## Natural History & Behavior ## A Frill Built to Startle The frilled lizard (*Chlamydosaurus kingii*) is an Australian dragon lizard known for the cape of skin that lies over its shoulders until something threatens it. Cornered, it usually turns to face its attacker and opens its pink or yellow mouth, and the frill rises around its neck, measuring almost 12 inches (about 30 cm) across when fully raised. Researchers tested the display against a model bird of prey and found it fits deimatic display theory. A deimatic display startles a predator for a moment, resulting in a pause or retreat. The frill reveals patches of white and red-orange skin plus a yellow mouth lining, and to a bird of prey's eyes the lizard switches from camouflaged to conspicuous. The display is performed with movements that amplify its effect. The frill is larger in males than females, hinting it might double as a signal in contests between rival males too. > **Two Bones and Two Cartilages** The hyoid is the bony frame at the base of the tongue. Two of its bones support the lower sides of the frill, and a pair of cartilages holds the upper sides. The frill goes up when these move together, and it needs the mouth open. ## Size and Home Adult males reach a snout-to-vent length (nose to the vent under the tail's base, tail not counted) of 290 millimeters and weigh at least 870 grams; females are much smaller, at 235 millimeters and 400 grams. Its average length is 85 centimeters (33 inches). The longest-lived frilled lizard in the AnAge ageing database reached 9.9 years, in captivity. It lives in grassy woodland and dry forest across northern Australia and southern New Guinea, spending 90 percent of its time in trees. It is well camouflaged there, and is usually noticed only after rain or when it comes down to feed. ## A Taste for Termites A two-year study of a wild population in Kakadu National Park found harvester termites of the genus *Drepanotermes* were a major part of its diet, which the study calls unusual for a sedentary forager (one that waits for food rather than roaming after it) in a tropical environment. It eats a diverse range of other invertebrates too, and has been known to take small mammals and pieces of meat. Growth is restricted to the wet season, when food is plentiful, and is minimal in the dry season, when food is scarce. ## Plan B: Run on Two Legs Flaring the frill makes the lizard look much bigger than it really is, and a predator may decide to look for smaller prey. If the bluff fails, the lizard usually runs up the nearest tree, and it is well known for running on its hind legs alone. The IUCN Red List rates the frilled lizard Least Concern. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How does the frill get its folded shape? It starts in the embryo, before the lizard hatches. Researchers showed that the embryo's neck fold enlarges and wrinkles, forming three ridges on each lobe of the frill. They suggest the ridges do not come from extra growth where each ridge sits: the skin grows evenly, but because it is attached to the tissue around it, it buckles into folds. Their physical models and 3D computer simulations reproduced the switch from two ridges to three seen in real embryos. *(Source: [Montandon, Fofonjka & Milinkovitch 2019]())* ### How does a frilled lizard get through the dry season? A wild population followed for two years in Kakadu National Park fed on a diverse range of invertebrates in both the wet and the dry season, even though the dry season had far less food. Radio-tracked lizards picked significantly larger kinds of tree in the dry season. Adult males kept their body condition fairly steady all year, while females varied considerably, which the researchers put down to the sexes' different roles in breeding. *(Source: [Griffiths & Christian 1996]())* ### Does it always run away when threatened? Usually, but not always. Animal Diversity Web says a disturbed frilled lizard usually dashes to the nearest tree, but it may instead hide beneath low vegetation or freeze, resting absolutely motionless. The frill comes out when it is cornered, sometimes with hissing, standing up on its hind legs, and leaping at or chasing the predator. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ### Why do geneticists study this lizard's mitochondria? Mitochondrial DNA is normally inherited from the mother only, with no mixing between the two parents' copies. By sequencing the frilled lizard's entire mitochondrial genome, 16,761 base pairs, researchers found evidence of recombination (mixing) in a hybrid zone, where two mitochondrial lineages meet. In hybrid zones, the father's mitochondria can leak through. The authors knew of no documented example of this in any wild land vertebrate population before. *(Source: [Ujvari, Dowton & Madsen 2007]())* ## Sources 1. [Chlamydosaurus kingii (Frilled Lizard). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [Lizard. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.]() 3. [AnAge entry for Chlamydosaurus kingii. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.]() 4. [Griffiths & Christian (1996). Diet and habitat use of frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment. Oecologia.]() 5. [Montandon, Fofonjka & Milinkovitch (2019). Elastic instability during branchial ectoderm development causes folding of the Chlamydosaurus erectile frill. eLife.]() 6. [Perez-Martinez, Riley & Whiting (2019). Uncovering the function of an enigmatic display: antipredator behaviour in the iconic Australian frillneck lizard. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.]() 7. [Ujvari, Dowton & Madsen (2007). Mitochondrial DNA recombination in a free-ranging Australian lizard. Biology Letters.]() 8. [Ujvari, Dowton & Madsen (2008). Population genetic structure, gene flow and sex-biased dispersal in frillneck lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii). Molecular Ecology.]() 9. [O'Shea et al. (2017). Chlamydosaurus kingii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T170384A21644690.]() *Published September 1, 2026. 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