Chondrichthyes

Chondrichthyes is a class of jawed fish that contains the cartilaginous fish or chondrichthyans, which all have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or bony fish, which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. Chondrichthyes are aquatic vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, placoid scales, and conus arteriosus in the heart. Within the infraphylum Gnathostomata, cartilaginous fishes are distinct from all other jawed vertebrates.

Chondrichthyes

Prehistoricplanes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
cartilaginous fishPBDB
Sits inside
GnathostomataPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Life habit
nektonicPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB

Time the record covers

At least 458 million years on record.

The record covers at least 458.2 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 469.4 Mya to 0 Mya.

Ordovician — about 1 of 12000 occurrencesSilurian — about 4 of 12000 occurrencesDevonian — about 69 of 12000 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 774 of 12000 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 679 of 12000 occurrencesPermianEarly Triassic — about 156 of 12000 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 554 of 12000 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 696 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Jurassic — about 232 of 12000 occurrencesMiddle Jurassic — about 155 of 12000 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 225 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 450 of 12000 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 2409 of 12000 occurrencesPaleocene — about 311 of 12000 occurrencesEocene — about 1982 of 12000 occurrencesOligocene — about 278 of 12000 occurrencesMiocene — about 2518 of 12000 occurrencesPliocene — about 363 of 12000 occurrencesPleistocene — about 142 of 12000 occurrences479–463 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences463–447 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences447–431 Mya — about 1 occurrence431–415 Mya — about 4 occurrences415–399 Mya — about 11 occurrences399–383 Mya — about 13 occurrences383–367 Mya — about 29 occurrences367–351 Mya — about 57 occurrences351–335 Mya — about 109 occurrences335–319 Mya — about 142 occurrences319–303 Mya — about 431 occurrences303–287 Mya — about 190 occurrences287–271 Mya — about 181 occurrences271–255 Mya — about 297 occurrences255–239 Mya — about 519 occurrences239–223 Mya — about 476 occurrences223–207 Mya — about 208 occurrences207–192 Mya — about 356 occurrences192–176 Mya — about 131 occurrences176–160 Mya — about 164 occurrences160–144 Mya — about 220 occurrences144–128 Mya — about 196 occurrences128–112 Mya — about 123 occurrences112–96 Mya — about 347 occurrences96–80 Mya — about 761 occurrences80–64 Mya — about 1491 occurrences64–48 Mya — about 606 occurrences48–32 Mya — about 1679 occurrences32–16 Mya — about 935 occurrences16–0 Mya — about 2320 occurrences458.2 Mya11.7 ka479 Mya0 Mya

12,000+ occurrences of Chondrichthyes on record. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

12,000 occurrences read

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. The read hit its cap, so every figure above is a floor and the shares are of the occurrences read. More on what this infers.

Found in

at least 986 formations

Laird — 56.16°N, 122.55°WLaird — 56.10°N, 122.87°WLaird — 56.07°N, 123.16°WMesaverde — 42.85°N, 107.28°WMesaverde — 44.08°N, 107.74°WMesaverde — 44.10°N, 107.75°WMesaverde — 44.17°N, 107.81°WSelsey — 50.80°N, 1.21°WPardonet — 56.13°N, 123.08°WPardonet — 56.08°N, 123.04°WPardonet — 56.10°N, 122.87°WPardonet — 56.48°N, 122.89°WPardonet — 56.10°N, 122.72°WPardonet — 56.02°N, 123.08°WPardonet — 56.07°N, 123.16°WGehannam — 29.30°N, 30.05°EGehannam — 29.31°N, 30.18°EGehannam — 29.36°N, 30.16°EGehannam — 29.33°N, 30.08°EQasr el-Sagha — 29.60°N, 30.67°EQasr el-Sagha — 29.66°N, 30.74°EQasr el-Sagha — 29.32°N, 30.05°EQasr el-Sagha — 29.27°N, 30.01°ECalvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 37.93°N, 77.51°WCalvert — 38.60°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 38.74°N, 76.56°WCalvert — 38.38°N, 76.99°WCalvert — 38.55°N, 76.52°WCalvert — 38.67°N, 76.53°WCalvert — 38.18°N, 76.97°WCalvert — 38.75°N, 76.97°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.81°WCalvert — 37.77°N, 77.28°WCalvert — 38.40°N, 76.50°WCalvert — 37.54°N, 77.44°WCalvert — 39.20°N, 75.60°WKhuff — 20.86°N, 57.60°EKhuff — 21.00°N, 57.66°EBirket Qarun — 29.28°N, 30.04°EBirket Qarun — 29.27°N, 30.06°EHell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 46.03°N, 103.77°WHell Creek — 46.21°N, 103.77°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.94°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.02°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.13°WHell Creek — 47.62°N, 107.32°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 107.18°WHell Creek — 47.53°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 106.27°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.23°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 104.01°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 100.87°WHell Creek — 46.50°N, 100.61°WHell Creek — 46.51°N, 100.65°WHell Creek — 46.61°N, 100.64°WEsbarrondadoiro — 38.11°N, 8.36°WEsbarrondadoiro — 38.17°N, 8.17°WEsbarrondadoiro — 39.30°N, 8.12°WDurlston — 50.60°N, 1.95°WDurlston — 50.62°N, 2.25°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.80°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.84°WGatun — 9.28°N, 79.89°WBaldonnel — 56.05°N, 123.01°WBaldonnel — 56.08°N, 123.04°WBaldonnel — 56.10°N, 122.87°WBaldonnel — 56.10°N, 122.72°WJudith River — 46.47°N, 109.30°WJudith River — 46.46°N, 109.41°WJudith River — 46.10°N, 109.10°WJudith River — 48.03°N, 109.01°WJudith River — 47.79°N, 108.94°WJudith River — 48.01°N, 108.91°WJudith River — 48.58°N, 109.22°WJudith River — 48.05°N, 106.32°WJudith River — 48.53°N, 109.67°WJudith River — 47.87°N, 109.15°WJudith River — 48.25°N, 109.30°WJudith River — 46.76°N, 108.00°WJudith River — 47.74°N, 108.96°WMarshalltown — 40.30°N, 74.30°WMarshalltown — 39.55°N, 75.65°WElmore — 50.80°N, 1.20°WLinton — 39.75°N, 87.34°WLinton — 40.94°N, 90.27°WLinton — 39.89°N, 87.44°WLinton — 40.46°N, 86.96°WLinton — 39.79°N, 87.38°WLinton — 39.46°N, 87.19°WLinton — 41.02°N, 87.29°WSamlat — 23.36°N, 16.03°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.32°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.48°WDinosaur Park — 50.74°N, 111.49°WDinosaur Park — 50.79°N, 111.62°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WNanjemoy — 38.87°N, 78.51°WNanjemoy — 38.40°N, 76.99°WNanjemoy — 38.43°N, 77.18°WNanjemoy — 38.28°N, 77.37°WNanjemoy — 38.38°N, 77.06°WYazoo — 31.66°N, 92.90°WYazoo — 31.82°N, 92.33°WYazoo — 32.27°N, 89.39°WYazoo — 31.71°N, 87.96°WYazoo — 31.93°N, 88.46°WYazoo — 32.07°N, 88.96°WYazoo — 31.93°N, 91.94°WYazoo — 32.83°N, 90.38°WWestbury — 53.03°N, 0.81°WWestbury — 51.60°N, 2.63°WWestbury — 51.32°N, 2.97°WWestbury — 51.93°N, 2.17°WWestbury — 51.24°N, 2.34°WWestbury — 52.91°N, 0.90°WWestbury — 51.82°N, 2.41°WWestbury — 50.72°N, 3.05°WWestbury — 50.78°N, 2.99°WWestbury — 52.75°N, 1.15°WWestbury — 51.21°N, 3.44°WWestbury — 53.40°N, 0.78°WWestbury — 51.55°N, 2.40°WCañete — 39.87°N, 1.48°WCañete — 39.61°N, 0.77°WCañete — 39.91°N, 1.37°WCañete — 40.93°N, 0.23°WCañete — 39.38°N, 0.78°WCañete — 39.14°N, 1.07°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Chondrichthyes has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. The read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 962 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 2,751 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

3,471 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 625 sites for Chondrichthyes, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

at least 1,511 references

Each of the 12,000 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. That read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 1,499 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Chondrichthyes

Credit
Prehistoricplanes
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Chondrichthyes indet. · fmnh:pf:15270

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itGnathostomata through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Huxley 1880