 This species grows to long and is characterized by its extremely long and narrow snout, short abdomen, and long anal and caudal fins.In addition, a large area of the anterior ventral portion of its body lacks dermal denticles.The longhead catshark is oviparous and the only known cartilaginous fish that is normally hermaphroditic, with the majority of individuals having both the functional reproductive organs of one sex and the undeveloped reproductive organs of the opposite sex.