Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Skull
-Formed by three main parts :
1. Neurocranium
2. Dermatocranium
3. Splanchnocranium
Neurocranium
Primary Braincase
Endocranium or Chondrocranium
Protects the brain and certain special sense
organs
Partly or wholly replaced by bone (except
cartilaginous fishes)
Gnathostomes Cartilaginous Brain case - Start
as several independent cartilages that later
expand and unite.
Cartilaginous Stage
Occipital Centers
- Cartilage around the foramen magnum
- may be replaced by as many as 4 bones.
Basioccipital bone produced by endochondral
ossification centers ventral to foramen magnum
- Underlying the hindbrain
Exoccipital bones (2) produced by centers in
the lateral walls of foramen magnum
Supraoccipital bone above foramen
-In mammals The 4 bones fuse to form one
occipital bone.
-In other Tetrapods, neurocranium articulates with 1st
vertebra via two occipital condyles.
-In Stem amphibians, a single condyle borne chiefly
on basioccipital bone.
Sphenoid Centers
Basisphenoids ossification of
embryonic cartilaginous neurocranium
underlying the midbrain and pituitary
gland
-In mammals:
Sphenoid elements may separate or unite to
form a single sphenoid bone with wings
Presphenoid bone- ossifies anterior to the
basiosphenoid bone
Bony platform basioccipital + sphenoid
bones that underlies the brain
Side wall in the sphenoid region above
basiosphenoid
o Formed by additional presphenoid
ossification
Alisphenoid forms lateral ossification of the
sphenoid region
-In Archosaurs (Crocodiles and Dinosaurs):
Laterosphenoid bone forms lateral
ossification of the sphenoid region
Orbitosphenoid bone separate interorbital
septum
Ethmoid Centers
-lies immediately anterior to the sphenoid
-ethmoid plate and olfactory (nasal) capsules
-In tetrapods, ethmoid tends to remain cartilaginous
Dermatocranium
-Membrane bones
-How it began? (page 167)
Basic Structure
o Bones that form above and alongside the
brain and neurocranium(roofing bones)
o Dermal bones of the upper jaw (marginal
bones)
o Dermal bones of the primary palate
o Opercular bones
Hypotheses:
1. Ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes share via their
common ancestor parietal and postparietal
bones with the frontal being unique to the later
sarcopterygians.
2. Roofing bones evolved independently and are
not homologous
Roofing bones
Generalized skull:
Lacrimal related to the
nasolacrimal duct in amniotes
which drains excess fluid
tears.
Prefrontal
Postfrontal
Jugal (infraorbital)
Posterior angle of the skull
Intertemporal
Supratemporal
Tabular
Lower angle of the skull
Squamosal
quadratojugal
unpaired parasphenoids
beneath the ethmoid region.
Paired palatines, ectopterygians
and pterygoids laterally
Invested the
palatoquadrate cartilage
Internal nares pierced the palate
anteriolaterally
Primary palate is still present in
tetrapods (with modifications)
Those with secondary palate ,
the primary palate remains in
the roof of the nasal
passageway
Opercular bones
-flap of tissue that arises as an outgrowth of the
hyoid arch and extends caudad over the fill slits
o Membranous in holocephalans
o Absent in elasmobranchs
o Stiffened by squamous plates of
dermal bone in bony fishes.
Most constant: Large opercular,
smaller operculars overlying the
site of articulation of the upper
and lower jaws, superoculars
and interoperculars.
Basal bony fishes: one or mor
gular bones lie in the opercular
membrane in the floor of the
opercular chamber
- in Ray-finned fishes,
Branchiostegal rays located in
caudally directed flapsBranchiostegal membranes
No operculum/gulars/vestiges in
tetrapods
Basal Actinopterygians
*Sturgeons:
-Neurocranium cartilaginous for life
-Endochondral Ossification only in the otic
capsuls and sphenoid bone walls of orbit
*Spoonbills
-unusual bill is extension of the cartilaginous
rostrum
*Polypterus
- retains more primitive features of paleozoic
fished than sturgeons and spoonbills.
-well ossified neurocranium overlaid In the
middorsal line by paired nasals, parietals and
postparietals.
-premaxilla and maxillae overlie the
endochondral palatoquadrate bones of the first
visceral arch
-preopercular bone overlies the site of
articulation of the upper and lower jaws
Basal Neopterygians
-Dermal bones are grooved and pitted,
sculpturing effects of overlying skin
-skull bones or dermal scales
-cheek plates evidence that dermatocranium
may have been derived from ealier dermal
scales.
Teleosts
-highly specialized skull and architecturally
diverse
- combination of highly movable jaws and
palates.
-skull is compressed laterally and vaulted
dorsally
-fully ossified neurocranium except olfactory
capsules
Dipnoans
-scale-like dermal bones to few broad bony
plates
-largely cartilaginous neurocranium
-palate accommodates openings of the nasal
canal into the oral cavity just behind the mouth