# Do sharks (and relatives) have ribs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471 "2004-11-24T14:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/1 "2004-11-24T14:49:27Z")
In your basic bony fish skeleton, it’s easy to see the bones that are homologous to ribs in their other bony vertebrate brethren. I’ve seen a few shark skeletons, and haven’t seen anything looking like ribs. And they’ve managed quite fine without them, although they don’t have nearly the legacy of bony fishes (e.g., amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, Pauly Shore). The GQs: Do sharks have ribs? Do the “ribs” (sorry, I don’t know what they’re called) of bony fishes serve some specific purpose (such as organ support)? If so, what structures does a shark have to accomplish the same purpose? (And I’m using “shark” as a synechdoche for “elasmobranchs.”) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/2 "2004-11-24T14:59:22Z")
[Yes](http://web.mit.edu/ashishg/www/albums/Aquarium/photos/photo_51.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/3 "2004-11-24T15:47:14Z")
What kind of shark is that? Where is his teeth? And his Jaw looks more like a whale than a shark. It was my understanding that sharks and other fish in the Class Chondrichthyes have skeletons made entirely of cartilage. Only a shark’s jaw and teeth are bone. So while he may have ribs, they are made of cartilage. So what’s up with that whale pic, **Otto**. It seems to come from a reliable source, but how could it possibly be the boney skeleton of a shark?? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/4 "2004-11-24T15:50:36Z")
I just HAD to look into this one further. [http://www.curator.org/LegacyVMNH/WebOfLife/Kingdom/P\_Chordata/ClassChondrichthyes/ClassChondrichthyes/SubclassElasmobranchii/sharks\_rays.htm](http://www.curator.org/LegacyVMNH/WebOfLife/Kingdom/P_Chordata/ClassChondrichthyes/ClassChondrichthyes/SubclassElasmobranchii/sharks_rays.htm) There is a picture of a shark “skeleton” with the following caption. > [@](#): > > This model of a shark skeleton shows how different the cartilaginous structure is from the more familiar bony skeleton of other vertebrates. Notice the solid gill arches and **the lack of ribs or rib-like structures.** **Otto** , I think your shark is a whale. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/5 "2004-11-24T15:55:53Z")
I thought I recognized that skeleton, from a visit several years ago. It’s from the [New England Aquarium](http://www.neaq.org/index.flash4.html), and is, in fact, a [whale skeleton](http://www.neaq.org/vtour/whalebones.html). ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/6 "2004-11-24T17:23:19Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > I’ve seen a few shark skeletons, and haven’t seen anything looking like ribs. And they’ve managed quite fine without them, although they don’t have nearly the legacy of bony fishes (e.g., amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, Pauly Shore). [off topic] Sharks, themselves, are part of the legacy of bony fishes - chondrichthyians are secondarily cartilaginous. [/off topic] ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/7 "2004-11-24T17:24:36Z")
Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/8 "2004-11-24T18:12:59Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Damn. Not _your_ fault. The freakin picture is even titled “shark skeleton”. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sharks-and-relatives-have-ribs/276471/9 "2004-11-24T21:13:34Z")
Just a general note: If you’re interested in sharks, and in shark attack statistics and stuff like that, you should check out the [Florida Museum of Natural History](http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/sharks.htm). They have heaps of good information, some excellent images, and the [International Shark Attack File](http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/isaf.htm) has data about shark attacks all around the world going back hundreds of years. It’s in my bookmarks, and is a really excellent site.