Evolution of the skeleton was a key transition in early vertebrates. Lampreys lack a mineralized skeleton but possess cartilaginous neurocranial and viscerocranial elements. In lampreys, the visceral skeleton develops as a fused branchial basket supporting the pharynx. Here, we have adapted Alcian blue staining of lamprey cartilage and show this method results in cartilage fluorescence that we used to describe development of the branchial skeleton in Petromyzon marinus between 17 and 63 days of development. We show that skeletal rods develop from condensations of flattened discoidal chondrocytes and may involve cellular intercalation. Lamprey trabecular, parachordal, and subchordal cartilages consist of aggregations of polygonal chondrocytes positioned on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the notochord. We speculate that morphological differences relate to functional differences in the cartilage. We show that differentiated skeletal rods are derived from neural crest. Finally, we show how branchial muscles intercalate with skeletal rods of the branchial basket.
(c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.