its main function is to connect bones together. it is also found in the joints, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the throat and between the bones of the back. another function of cartilage is to create a place on which bones can form when they are first developed. it also helps to protect the places where bones work against each other: the joints. in some fish like sharks (chondrichthyes), cartilage forms the whole of the skeleton.