The cleithrum (plural cleithra) is a

membrane bone A dermal bone or investing bone or membrane bone is a bony structure derived from intramembranous ossification forming components of the vertebrate skeleton including much of the skull, jaws, gill covers, shoulder girdle and fin spines rays (lepid ...

which first appears as part of the skeleton in primitive

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...

, where it runs vertically along the scapula. Its name is derived from Greek κλειθρον = "

key (lock) A lock is a mechanics, mechanical or Electronics, electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, Keycard lock, keycard, fingerprint, Radio-frequency identification, RFID card, security token or coin), by supplyi ...

", by analogy with " clavicle" from Latin ''clavicula'' = "little key". In modern fishes, the cleithrum is a large bone that extends upwards from the base of the pectoral fin and anchors to the cranium above the gills, forming the posterior edge of the gill chamber. The bone has scientific use as a means to determine the age of fishes. The

lobe-finned fishes Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass includin ...

share this arrangement. In the earliest amphibians however, the cleithrum/clavicle complex came free of the

skull roof The skull roof, or the roofing bones of the skull, are a set of bones covering the brain, eyes and nostrils in bony fishes and all land-living vertebrates. The bones are derived from dermal bone and are part of the dermatocranium. In comparati ...

, allowing for a movable neck. The cleithrum disappeared early in the evolution of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s, and in

amniote Amniotes are a clade of tetrapod vertebrates that comprises sauropsids (including all reptiles and birds, and extinct parareptiles and non-avian dinosaurs) and synapsids (including pelycosaurs and therapsids such as mammals). They are disti ...

s is very small or absent. It has been argued based on position, muscle connectivity, and developmental origin that the nuchal element of the turtle

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

is formed from fused cleithra. Pu carapace

References

{{Tetrapod osteology Skeletal system Upper limb anatomy Shoulder

See also

References