chondrichthyan

noun

chon·​drich·​thy·​an kän-ˈdrik-thē-ən 

variants or less commonly chondrichthian

plural chondrichthyans also chondrichthians

: a fish of the class Chondrichthyes : a cartilaginous fish

One quarter of all the world's cartilaginous fish species—known as chondrichthyans—are now threatened, reports a study published Tuesday in the journal eLife.

—Fabien Tepper, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Jan. 2014

Sharks, rays, and their less numerous kin the chimaeras, or ratfishes, are characterized by skeletons composed of cartilage rather than solid bone. (Collectively, they are known as chondrichthyans; bony fishes are the osteichthyans.)

—John G. Maisey, Natural History, June 1998

chondrichthyan adjective

or less commonly chondrichthian

chondrichthyan fishes

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

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