skeleton

noun

All the cartilaginous and bony elements comprising the exoskeleton (or dermoskeleton) which includes the dermocranium, secondary pectoral girdle and scales, and the endoskeleton. The latter has a somatic axial component comprising the neurocranium, vertebral column and paraxial elements, a somatic appendicular component comprising the median fins, paired fins, radials, pterygiophores and fin rays, and a visceral component, the viscerocranium, comprising the mandibular arch, the hyoid arch and the branchial arches. Its main function is to strengthen and maintain the shape of an animal.