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cartilaginous fish

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
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.

cartilaginous fish
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any fish of the class Chondrichthyes, including the sharks, skates, and rays, having a skeleton composed entirely of cartilage

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
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.cartilaginous fish - fishes in which the skeleton may be calcified but not ossified
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"


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A nodule unearthed from 300-million-year-old rocks in Kansas holds what scientists believe is the oldest fossilized brain, that of an ancient cartilaginous fish (illustration, top) related to modern-day ratfish.
 
 
 
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