fish, in zoology: The Cartilaginous Fishes

The Cartilaginous Fishes

The cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) are distinguished from the bony fish by their cartilage skeletons, by the absence of either a swim bladder or lungs, by the construction of their tail fins, and by the absence in most of a gill covering, or operculum. The skin of members of this group is covered with imbedded toothlike structures called denticles, giving it a rough, sandpapery quality. Sharks are almost exclusively marine in distribution.

Sections in this article:

Introduction
The Bony Fishes
The Cartilaginous Fishes
The Jawless Fishes
Reproduction
Characteristic Anatomical Features
Bibliography

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Vertebrate Zoology