Skeletal System: The

Skull
PRECY ANN MAE D. REYES
The Vertebrate Skull consists of: 

  Chondrocranium (primary braincase)

   Dermatocranium (membrane bones)

   Splanchnocranium (or visceral

skeleton)

Composite skull: skull of Eusthenopteron, a Devonian

rhipidistian fish
Chondrocranium
 Primarily an embryonic structure
serving as a scaffold for the
developing brain and as a support for the
sensory capsules.
 Begins as cartilage that is partly or
entirely replaced by bone (except in
cartilaginous fishes)
Embryonic development of the chondrocranium.
Cartilaginous stage:
 neurocranium begins as pair of parachordal & prechordal cartilages below the brain
 parachordal cartilages expand & join; along with the notochord from the basal plate
 prechordal cartilages expand & join to form an ethmoid plate
 Cartilage also appears in the
 olfactory capsule (partially surrounding the olfactory epithelium)
 otic capsule (surrounds inner ear & also develops into sclera of the eyeball)
 Completion of floor, walls, & roof:
 Ethmoid plate - fuses with olfactory capsules
 Basal plate - fuses with otic capsules
 Further development of cartilaginous neurocranium = development of cartilaginous
walls (sides of braincase) &, in cartilaginous fishes, a cartilaginous roof over the brain
Cartilaginous fishes - retain a cartilaginous neurocranium (or chondrocranium)
throughout life

Bony fishes, lungfishes, & most ganoids - retain highly cartilaginous

neurocranium that is covered by membrane bone

Other bony vertebrates - embryonic cartilaginous neurocranium is largely

replaced by replacement bone (the process of endochondral ossification
occurs almost simultaneously at several ossification centers)
Splanchnocranium
 characterized by paired cartilaginous
aggregates that form pharyngeal arches.
 Generally supports the gills and offers
attachment for the respiratory muscles.
 Elements of the splanchnocranium
contribute to the jaws and hyoid
apparatus of gnathostomes.
 derived from neural crest cells.
 The neural crest cells migrate into the walls
Primitive splanchnocranium. Seven arches are shown.
of the pharynx to form pharyngeal arches
between the gills.
 The anterior branchial arches that support
the mouth are the jaws
The first arch is called the Mandibular Arch and it’s divided into dorsal and
ventral
Elements:
 A- dorsal element-called the paeloquadrate. It contributes to the upper jaw

 B- ventral element-called Meckel’s cartilage. It contributes to the lower jaw

The second arch is called the hyoid arch, most prominent component is
the hyomandibula.
 In mammals, the ventral portion is involved in support the tongue, muscles used
for swallowing and jaw movements.
Branchial arches I-V are associated with the gill apparatus. In mammals
they eventually contribute to the larynx
Dermatocranium
 forms the sides and roof of the skull to complete the protective bony
case around the brain;
 it forms most of the bony lining of the roof of the mouth, and
encases much of the splanchnocranium.
 Overview of the Skull Morphology
 Braincase
 In chondrichthyan fishes, the braincase is an elaborate cartilaginous case around the
brain. The dermatocranium is absent, reflecting the elimination of almost all bone
from the skeleton.
 In most bony fishes and tetrapods, the braincase is extensively ossified with
contributions from several sources.
 The splanchnocranium contributes the epipterygoid (alisphenoid of mammals) to the
endoskeletal platform and gives rise to one (columella/stapes) or more (malleus and
incus of mammals) of the middle ear bones housed in the otic capsule.
 Jaws
 The upper jaw consists of the endoskeletal palatoquadrate in primitive
vertebrates.
 The palatoquadrate is fully functional in the jaws of chondrichthyans and
primitive fishes, but in bony fishes and tetrapods, the palatoquadrate usually
makes limited contributions to the skull through its two derivatives: the
epipterygoid and the quadrate.
 The dermal maxilla and premaxilla replace the palatoquadrate as the upper jaw.
 The lower jaw, or mandible, consists only of Meckel’s cartilage in
chondrichthyans.
 The anterior tooth-bearing part of the dentary is its ramus.
 Jaw-closing muscles are inserted on the coronoid process, an upward extension
of the dentary.
 Posteriorly, the dentary forms the transversely expanded mandibular condyle, a
rounded process that articulates with the glenoid fossa, a depression within the
temporal bone of the braincase.
 Hyoid Apparatus
 is a ventral derivative of the splanchnocranium behind the jaws.
 In fishes, it supports the floor of the mouth.
 In larval and paedomorphic amphibians, the branchial bars
persist but form a reduced hyoid apparatus that supports the floor
of the mouth and functional gills. In adults, the gills and the
associated part of the hyoid apparatus are lost, although
elements persist within the floor of the mouth usually to support
the tongue.
 In many mammals, including humans, the distal end of the hyoid
horn fuses with the otic region of the braincase to form the styloid
process.
 Cranial Kinesis
 movement between the upper jaw and the
braincase about joints between them.
 provides a way to change the size and
configuration of the mouth rapidly.
 allows tooth-bearing bones to move quickly into
strategic positions during rapid feeding.
 They are found in ancient fishes (rhipidistians
and probably palaeoniscoids), bony fishes
(especially teleosts), very early tetrapods, most
reptiles (including most Mesozoic forms), birds,
and early therapsid ancestors to mammals.
 Kinetic skulls are not present in modern
amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, and mammals.
 Phylogeny of the Skull

Embryonic origin of the bony skull in five vertebrate model organisms

arrayed on a simplified vertebrate phylogeny. Neural crest-derived
territories (blue) have been verified experimentally in each species,
although the specific contributions from individual migratory streams are
reported only for chicken, axolotl and Xenopus. Derivation of remaining
components from mesoderm (magenta) has been verified experimentally
in mouse and chicken and is presumed for the remaining species.
Arrowheads point to the neural crest–mesoderm interface in the skull
roof, which is displaced caudally in Xenopus. 
Evolution of the coronal
suture and associated
skull bones.
Skull bones associated
to the ‘coronal suture’
are mapped on a
phylogeny of selected
extant and extinct
osteichthyans. On one
side of each skull, bones
are color-coded based
on deductions from
evolutionary continuity –
for example the
actinopterygian ‘parietal’
is what was formerly
referred to as the ‘frontal’
in these species. The
pineal foramen is shown
by a black dot. The
currently accepted
coronal suture is shown
for Danio (zebrafish), Mu
s (mouse),
and Columba (pigeon).
Daggers denote extinct
species represented only
by fossils.
 Overview of the Skull Function and Design
 Prey Capture
 Feeding in Water
 Suspension feeders
 use several methods to intercept and
gather nutrients traveling within streams of
water. Captured particles are usually
smaller than the pores of the filter.

 Suction Feeding
 Like most fishes, amphibians living in water
typically use suction feeding and the buccal
cavity expands rapidly, pressure drops, and
food is aspirated into the mouth.
Cranial and axial muscles applying force
through the cranial linkage mechanism
 Feeding in Air
 Terrestrial feeding in most amphibians and
many lizards requires a projectile tongue.
The term lingual feeding recognizes the
use of a rapid, projected, and sticky tongue
to capture prey.
 Swallowing
 Once an animal has captured and
dispatched its prey, it must swallow the
prey in order to digest it.
 A snake swallows a relatively large animal
by stepping the tooth-bearing bones over
the dispatched prey
 Swallowing mechanisms of
terrestrial vertebrates
 mastication has had a
profound influence upon skull
design, producing an akinetic
skull with precise tooth
occlusion and only two
replacement sets of teeth, a
secondary palate, large jaw-
closing musculature, and
changes in lower jaw
structure.
Thank you!!