bony fish

noun

1. any fish of the class Osteichthyes, characterized by gill covers, an air bladder, and a skeleton composed of bone in addition to cartilage.

bony fish

noun

1. any fish of the class Osteichthyes , including most of the extant species, having a skeleton of bone rather than cartilage

bony fish

/ bō′nē /

1. Any of numerous ray-finned fishes belonging to the infraclass Teleostei or Teleostomi, having a skeleton that is completely made of bone, rather than partially or completely made of cartilage. Most living species of fish are bony fish.
2. Also called teleost
3. Compare cartilaginous fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of bony fish¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15

Example Sentences

They compared this to a remarkable new specimen of Pachystropheus, known as 'Annie', that contains hundreds of bones from several individuals, as well as evidence of sharks, bony fish, and even terrestrial dinosaurs.

From Science Daily

Other winners of a slimy new epoch would be ocean sunfish, a giant bony fish whose individuals can clock in at more than 2,000 pounds and consume jellyfish — and velella — in mass quantities.

From Los Angeles Times

That was the accepted wisdom until 2016, when Crump and his colleagues found genetic evidence that bony fish—which evolved about 410 million years ago, also have these joints.

From Science Magazine

All bony fish have a swim bladder, a gas-filled organ which helps them remain under the water.

From BBC

It is unclear why the joining chain is absent in bony fish.

From Science Daily