page_title: Endoskeleton
hierarchical_section_title: Endoskeleton
caption_attribution_description: English: Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) skeleton at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC; digital photo and removal of background by User:Postdlf. Español: Endoesqueleto de un pez espada. Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Instituto Smithsoniano.
context_page_description: An endoskeleton is a structure that holds an animal from inside.
  One can find endoskeletons in three phyla and one subclass of animals: in Chordata, Echinodermata, Porifera and Coleoidea. An endoskeleton allows the body to move and gives the body structure and shape.
  A true endoskeleton develops from mesodermal tissue. Such a skeleton is present in echinoderms and chordates. The Coleoidae do not have a true endoskeleton in the evolutionary sense; here, a mollusc exoskeleton developed into several sorts of internal structure, the "cuttlebone" of cuttlefish being the best-known version. An important advantage of an endoskeleton over an exoskeleton is that the endoskeleton provides more structural support.
  Endoskeletons hold inner organs, tissues, and systems together easily.
context_section_description: An endoskeleton is a structure that holds an animal from inside. 
  One can find endoskeletons in three phyla and one subclass of animals: in Chordata, Echinodermata, Porifera and Coleoidea. An endoskeleton allows the body to move and gives the body structure and shape. 
  A true endoskeleton develops from mesodermal tissue. Such a skeleton is present in echinoderms and chordates. The Coleoidae do not have a true endoskeleton in the evolutionary sense; here, a mollusc exoskeleton developed into several sorts of internal structure, the "cuttlebone" of cuttlefish being the best-known version. An important advantage of an endoskeleton over an exoskeleton is that the endoskeleton provides more structural support.
  Endoskeletons hold inner organs, tissues, and systems together easily.
caption: Endoskeleton of a swordfish
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