On the origin of the so-called Meckelian ossicles in the nasal skull of odontocetes

Although Cave (1987) accepts the theory that the Meckelian ossicles originate from the maxilloturbinals, evidence given in his study in fact supports the opinion of Klima and van Bree (1985) that the Meckelian ossicles arise from elements of the nasal floor, solum nasi, of the embryonic nasal capsule, in particular from the lamina transversalis anterior and the cartilago paraseptalis.