The species are all modern bony fishes, suggesting that elastic cartilage is a general feature in this group, according to the study, which was published Jan. 9 in the journal Nature.

An additional surprise was that the elastic cartilage of gills may have arisen much earlier than previously thought. Older reports had characterized cartilage-like tissue in the gills and tentacles of ...

Elastic cartilage, which is in the outer ear and larynx, provides shape and elasticity. Fibrocartilage, tough and strong, is in joint capsules, ligaments and the spine’s invertebral discs.