practical approach for the identification of the many cartilaginous tissues in teleost fish

A classification of teleostean cartilages is essentially an impossible task because of an intergrading of tissues along an almost continuous spectrum of skeletal tissue types. Teleost fish display a spectrum that ranges from cartilage-like connective tissue to bone-like cartilage. In addition, many teleost cartilages cannot be equated with mammalian hyaline cartilage. Existing classifications of teleost cartilage are often disregarded due to the necessarily cumbersome terminology that is used to describe the astounding array of tissue types, a neglect that hampers enhancing our knowledge of the origin and function of teleost cartilage.