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.

The frilled shark (C. anguineus) was long thought to be the only extant member of its genus and family.

The holotype was a 117 cm (46 in) long immature female caught at a depth of 409 m (1,342 ft) off the Cunene River, Namibia, by the research vessel Benguela.

Little is known of its habitat preferences; one known specimen was caught 425 m (1,394 ft) down in a zone of low dissolved oxygen and high nutrients, over a soft substrate.

[2] Compared to the frilled shark, the southern African frilled shark has several proportional differences, including a longer head and gill slits, more widely spaced eyes and nares, broader mouth, and a greater distance between the head and the pectoral fins.

Its jaws, buccal cavity, and abdomen are all highly distensible, suggesting that this shark is specialized for capturing and swallowing whole large prey, with its rows of needle-like, recurved teeth preventing escape.