The Zebrafish Infraorbital Bones: A Descriptive Study

The infraorbital (IO) bone series, a component of the circumorbital series, makes up five of the eight dermal bones found in the orbital region of the zebrafish skull. Ossifying in a set sequence, the IOs are closely associated with the cranial lateral line system as they house neuromast sensory receptors in bony canals. We conducted a detailed analysis of the condensation to mineralization phases of development of these bones. Our analyses involved both bone and osteoblast staining of zebrafish at 20 different time points. IO bone condensations are shaped as templates for the final bone shape, and they mineralize at one or more centers of ossification. Initially, mineralization is closely associated with the lateral line canals and/or foramen, and the onset of mineralization is temporally variable. Canal wall mineralization is a process that continues into adulthood and completely mineralized canal roofs were not found. Our comprehensive growth series detailing the ossification of each IO bone provides important insight into the growth and development of this series of neural crest-derived flat bones in the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton.