Cartilaginous fishes Temporal range: Silurian to Present
Late | |
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Example of cartilaginous fishes : at the top of the image, Elasmobranchii and at the bottom of the image, Holocephali. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Infraphylum: | Gnathostomata |
Clade: | Eugnathostomata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes Huxley, 1880 |
Subclasses and Orders | |
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Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fishes are the sharks and their relatives. They have jaws and paired fins, paired nostrils, scales, two-chambered hearts, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. They are divided into two subclasses: Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays and skates) and Holocephali (chimaera, sometimes called ghost sharks).