In this paper we presented the first occurrence of a fossilized cartilage element (right Meckel's cartilage) of a chondrichthyan from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) of continental Europe. The internal skeleton of "conventionally defined" Chondrichthyes (i.e., chondrichthyans excluding acanthodians; Zhu et al., [60]) is built up of calcified cartilage, which is characterized by a very low fossilization potential and is thus very rarely represented in the fossil record. Tristichopterids (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha) from the Upper Devonian tetrapod-bearing locality of Strud (Belgium, upper Famennian), with phylogenetic and paleobiogeographic considerations. Our knowledge of the Famennian vertebrates from Belgium is mainly restricted to the late Famennian (fluvio-lagunal Evieux Formation) whereas the more distal Montfort Formation has received much less attention regarding its vertebrate content. [Extracted from the article]