Question

Some animals have internal skeleton of cartilage such as Shark and Sting Ray. They feed on other animals by predation. What is the importance of cartilage in their life? ​

Answer 1

Answer:

Sharks skeleton is made of cartilage instead of bones to have a lighter weight which allows them to go up and down quickly in the ocean without a lot of effort to stay afloat. Cartilage is robust but not as dense as bone which gives them a great flexibility that allows them bending much easier than bony fishes

While bony fishes use a rigid skeleton for muscular attachment and contraction in swimming, larger sharks strengthen their cartilaginous skeletons with mineral matter within cartilage and with external mineral plates.

Cartilaginous fishes (chondrichthyes) represent the oldest surviving jawed vertebrates and, as the name suggests, have a skeleton made out of cartilage. They include sharks, rays, and skates (elasmobranchii) and chimeras (holocephali).Sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras (also know as rat fishes) all have cartilaginous skeletons. Cartilage is less dense than bone, allowing sharks to move quickly through the water without using too much energy.

Answer 2

Cartilage is used in the movement of shark and stingray and it is used to move faster through the water without utilizing more energy.

Explanation:

• The weight of the cartilage is less than bone and the body of shark and stingray is made up of cartilage.
• The shark and stingray have cartilaginous skeletons.
• The ray has pectoral fins and it makes the stingray body as disc-shaped.
• Shark will have different body shape than stingray.
• Cartilage will make the body of shark and stingray more flexible, hence it bends easily than other bony fishes.
• The elasticity of the body will make them to move faster in water.