Abstract
New observations based on a serial reconstruction of histological sections of a prenatal coelacanth demonstrate that, in contrast to previous reports, the basicranial muscle is innervated by the abducent nerve rather than the vagal nerve. A detailed account of the course of the abducent nerve and its terminal arborizations in the basicranial muscle and lateral rectus muscle is provided. This finding bears on the phylogenetic derivation of the basicranial muscle in sarcopterygians, its possible homologues in other vertebrates, and patterns of head segmentation in craniates.
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Bemis, W.E., Northcutt, R.G. (1991). Innervation of the basicranial muscle of Latimeria chalumnae . In: Musick, J.A., Bruton, M.N., Balon, E.K. (eds) The biology of Latimeria chalumnae and evolution of coelacanths. Developments in environmental biology of fishes, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3194-0_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3194-0_9
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