Chondrichthyes
Sign in to saveChondrichthyes (; ) is a class of jawed fish that contains the cartilaginous fish or chondrichthyans, which all have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or bony fish, which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. Chondrichthyes are aquatic vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, placoid scales, conus arteriosus in the heart, and a lack of opercula and swim bladders. Within the infraphylum Gnathostomata, cartilaginous fishes are distinct from all other jawed vertebrates.
AI overview
Chondrichthyes is a class of jawed fish with skeletons made primarily of cartilage rather than bone, which includes sharks, rays, and related species. These aquatic vertebrates are distinguished from other jawed fish by features like their cartilaginous skeletons, paired fins and nostrils, and the absence of gill covers and swim bladders.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
Parvphylum
- PhylumChordata
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
via
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Gnathostomata
- Image
- Manta birostris-Thailand3.jpg
Show 7 more facts
Article
14 sectionsContents
- Anatomy
- Skeleton
- Appendages
- Body covering
- Respiratory system
- Nervous system
- Immune system
- Reproduction
- Classification
- Evolution
- Taxonomy
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class of jawed fish that contains the cartilaginous fish or chondrichthyans, which all have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or bony fish, which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. Chondrichthyes are aquatic vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, placoid scales, conus arteriosus in the heart, and a lack of opercula and swim bladders. Within the infraphylum Gnathostomata, cartilaginous fishes are distinct from all other jawed vertebrates.
The class is divided into two subclasses: Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, skates and sawfish) and Holocephali (chimaeras, sometimes called ghost sharks, which are sometimes separated into their own class). Extant chondrichthyans range in size from the finless sleeper ray to the over whale shark.