Your Inner Fish

by

Neil Shubin

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Malleus and incus Term Analysis

Two of the three bones of the mammalian inner ear, along with the stapes. The malleus and incus develop from the first arch of the mammalian embryo, and correspond to two of the jaw bones that develop from the second arch in reptilian embryos.

Malleus and incus Quotes in Your Inner Fish

The Your Inner Fish quotes below are all either spoken by Malleus and incus or refer to Malleus and incus. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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).
Chapter 10 Quotes

As he describes the ear-jaw comparison, his prose departs from the normally staid description of nineteenth-century anatomy to express shock, even wonderment, at this discovery. The conclusion was inescapable: the same gill arch that formed part of the jaw of a reptile formed ear bones in mammals. Reichert proposed a notion that even he could barely believe - that parts of the ears of mammals are the same thing as parts of the jaws of reptiles.

Related Characters: Neil Shubin (speaker), Karl Reichert
Page Number: 160
Explanation and Analysis:
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Malleus and incus Term Timeline in Your Inner Fish

The timeline below shows where the term Malleus and incus appears in Your Inner Fish. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10: Ears
Similarities Between All Animals Theme Icon
History of Life  Theme Icon
Understanding Complex Concepts Through Simple Analogies Theme Icon
Scientific Discovery Theme Icon
...the ear bones, Shubin recalls from Chapter 5 that two of the ear bones (the malleus and the incus ) develop from the first arch in the head and the third bone (the stapes)... (full context)
History of Life  Theme Icon
Scientific Discovery Theme Icon
Gaupp worked only with living creatures, and so had no proof that the malleus and incus bones gradually moved from the jaw in reptiles to the ear in mammals. Richard Owen,... (full context)
Similarities Between All Animals Theme Icon
History of Life  Theme Icon
If the malleus and the incus evolved from the reptilian jaw, Shubin now turns to the development of the stapes. This... (full context)