What is "chondrichthyes"

Chondrichthyes \Chondrichthyes\ n. the class of fishes comprising the cartilaginous fishes, which includes the sharks.

Syn: class Chondrichthyes.

Chondrichthyes (; from Greek χονδρ- chondr- 'cartilage', ἰχθύς ichthys 'fish') is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes: they are jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, a heart with its chambers in series, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. The class is divided into two subclasses: Elasmobranchii ( sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) and Holocephali ( chimaeras, sometimes called ghost sharks, which are sometimes separated into their own class).

Within the infraphylum Gnathostomata, cartilaginous fishes are distinct from all other jawed vertebrates.