Ectotympanic Explained

The ectotympanic, or tympanicum, is a bony structure found in all mammals, located on the tympanic part of the temporal bone, which holds the tympanic membrane (eardrum) in place. In catarrhine primates (including humans), it takes a tube-shape.^{[1] [2]} Its position and attachment to the skull vary between primates, and can be either inside or outside the auditory bulla.^{[3] [4]}

It is homologous with the angular bone of non-mammalian tetrapods.

External links

• webref: Anthropology
• Hershkovitz P . The Ectotympanic Bone and Origin of Higher Primates . Folia Primatologica . 22 . 4. 237–42 . 1974 . 10.1159/000155628 . 4218574.
• Jones FW, Lambert VF . The occurrence of the lemurine form of the ectotympanic in a primitive marsupial . J. Anat. . 74 . Pt 1 . 72–5 . October 1939 . 17104802 . 1252559 .

Notes and References

1. Fricano . Ellen Elise Irwin . The Primate Ectotympanic Tube: Correlates of Structure, Function, and Development . 2018 .
2. Book: Ankel-Simons, F. . Primate Anatomy . 3rd . Academic Press . 2007 . 435–436 . 0-12-372576-3 .
3. Archibald . J.D. . Ectotympanic bone and internal carotid circulation of eutherians in reference to anthropoid origins . Journal of Human Evolution . 6 . 7 . 1977 . 609–622 . 10.1016/S0047-2484(77)80134-6.
4. Web site: Strepsirhine/Haplorhine Split . Sellers . W.I. . 18 August 2010 .