The front part of the angel sharks' bodies are wide and flattened, but the back part is more muscular. The eyes and spiracles are on the top, and the five gill slits are on its back. Both the pectoral fins and the pelvic fins are large and are held horizontally. There are two dorsal fins, no anal fin. Unusually for sharks, the lower lobe of the caudal fin is longer than the upper lobe. Most types of angel sharks grow to a length of about 1.5 metres: the Japanese angelshark reaches two metres. They are ovoviviparous, and can have up to 13 pups at a time.