cartilaginous fish

cartilaginous fish

n.

A fish whose skeleton consists mainly of cartilage, especially a member of the class Chondrichthyes, such as a shark, skate, or ray.

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cartilaginous fish  (kärtl-j-ns)

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. Compare bony fishjawless fish

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

cartilaginous fish - fishes in which the skeleton may be calcified but not ossified chondrichthian Chondrichthyes, class Chondrichthyes - cartilaginous fishes holocephalan, holocephalian - fish with high compressed head and a body tapering off into a long tail elasmobranch, selachian - any of numerous fishes of the class Chondrichthyes characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton and placoid scales: sharks; rays; skates fish - any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills; "the shark is a large fish"; "in the living room there was a tank of colorful fish"