Chondrichthyes (Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras)

Michael D Gottfried, Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0001534

Chondrichthyes is the class of vertebrates that includes sharks, rays and chimaeras. These relatives of bony fishes are characterized by an internal skeleton of cartilage rather than true bone.

Keywords: sharks; rays; elasmobranchs; cartilage; fishes

Figure 1. External features of a generalized shark.
Figure 2. Blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus (photograph by D. Perrine ©).
Figure 3. Evolutionary relationships of the major groups of modern elasmobranchs or Neoselachii (adapted from de Carvalho, 1996).
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 Further Reading
    Compagno LJV (1984) FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125, volume 4(1–2): 1–655.
    book Compagno LJV, Simpfendorfer C, McCosker J et al. (1998) Reader's Digest Explores Sharks. Reader's Digest: Pleasantville, NY.
    book de Carvalho MR (1996) "Higher level elasmobranch phylogeny, basal squaleans, and paraphyly". In: Staissny M, Parenti L and Johnson G (eds) Interrelationships of Fishes, pp. 35–62. San Diego: Academic Press.
    book Gottfried MD, Compagno LJV and Bowman SC (1996) "Size and skeletal anatomy of the giant ‘megatooth’ shark Carcharodon megalodon". In: Klimley AP and Ainley DG (eds) Great White Sharks: the Biology of Carcharodon carcharias, pp. 55–66. San Diego: Academic Press.
    book Klimley AP and Ainley DG (eds) (1996) Great White Sharks: the Biology of Carcharodon carcharias. San Diego: Academic Press.
    book Paxton JR and Eschmeyer WN (1994) Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press.
    book Tricas TC, Deacon K, Last P et al. (1997) The Nature Company Guide: Sharks and Rays. Hong Kong: Time-Life Books.

Related Sub-Topics:

Diversity of Life | Fossils and Evolution
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Article Title: Chondrichthyes (Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras)
 
How to Cite close
Gottfried, Michael D(Apr 2001) Chondrichthyes (Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras). In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0001534]