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Chondrichthyes Sensory Systems

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Definition

Chondrichthyes’ sensory systems are part of the nervous system responsible for receiving external and internal stimuli and translating them into nerve impulses that are transmitted to the central nervous system where they are processed.

Introduction

The Chondrichthyes are the basalmost extant branch of Gnathostomata and comprehend a monophyletic group of fishes with fossils and extant representatives distributed in 65 families with 1282 valid species. Despite several recent findings regarding the relationships of early chondrichthyans (see Maisey et al. 2017 for more information), the extant chondrichthyans are divided into two groups, the Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, and their kin) and the Holocephali (chimaeras and their kin), and can be recognized by the presence of some apomorphic characteristics, such as prismatic calcification of the cartilaginous endoskeleton, the presence of placoid scales, and pelvic fin modified in claspers in males.

All Chondrichthyes live in...

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Correspondence to Veronica Slobodian .

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Slobodian, V., Citeli, N., Cesar, S.E., Soares, K.D.A. (2021). Chondrichthyes Sensory Systems. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1018-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1018-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Chondrichthyes Sensory Systems
    Published:
    11 August 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1018-2

  2. Original

    Chondrichthyes Sensory Systems
    Published:
    19 February 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1018-1