cartilaginous fish

noun

1. any fish of the class Chondrichthyes, including the sharks, skates, and rays, having a skeleton composed entirely of cartilage

cartilaginous fish

/ kär′tl-ăj′ə-nəs /

1. Any of various fishes of the class Selachii (or Chondrichthyes), having a skeleton that is made of cartilage. Cartilaginous fishes breathe through gill slits, of which there are usually five, and their toothlike or platelike scales (called denticles) are made of dentine and enamel. Sharks, rays, skates, sawfish, and chimaeras are cartilaginous fishes.
2. Compare bony fish

Example Sentences

With such robust evolutionary versatility, these cartilaginous fishes have survived not one, not two, but five mass extinctions in Earth's history.

From Salon

This study significantly expands the understanding of these ancient cartilaginous fish and provides further insights into a past marine ecosystem.

From Science Daily

Twelve out of seventeen cartilaginous fish genomes studied contained genes for the taste receptors type 2, with only one T2R gene present in each species.

From Science Daily

It likely first evolved in vertebrates roughly 460 million years ago, when sharks and other cartilaginous fishes separated from bony vertebrates like ourselves, researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From Science Magazine

Shark conservation work in Panama is being informed by the study of fossilized shark scales, which reveal how the cartilaginous fish have responded to human intervention over time.

From New York Times