# Supratemporal bone

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[[File:Petrolacosaurus skull diagram.png|thumb|Skull of ''[Petrolacosaurus](/source/Petrolacosaurus)'', showing supratemporal on upper right]]
The '''supratemporal bone''' is a paired [cranial](/source/Skull) bone present in many [tetrapods](/source/Tetrapod) and [tetrapodomorph](/source/Tetrapodomorpha) [fish](/source/fish).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Qiao |first1=Tuo |last2=Zhu |first2=Min |date=2010 |title=Cranial morphology of the Silurian sarcopterygian Guiyu oneiros (Gnathostomata: Osteichthyes) |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11430-010-4089-6 |journal=Science China Earth Sciences |language=en |volume=53 |issue=12 |pages=1836–1848 |doi=10.1007/s11430-010-4089-6 |bibcode=2010ScChD..53.1836Q |s2cid=54963054 |issn=1674-7313|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It is part of the temporal region (the portion of the skull roof behind the eyes), usually lying medial (inwards) relative to the [squamosal](/source/Squamosal_bone) and lateral (outwards) relative to the [parietal](/source/Parietal_bone) and/or [postparietal](/source/postparietal). It may also contact the [postorbital](/source/Postorbital_bone) or [intertemporal](/source/Intertemporal_bone) (which lie forwards), or [tabular](/source/Tabular_bone) (which lies backwards), when those bones are present.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parrington |first=F.R. |date=1937 |title=V.— A note on the supratemporal and tabular bones in reptiles |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222933708655315 |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |language=en |volume=20 |issue=115 |pages=69–76 |doi=10.1080/00222933708655315 |issn=0374-5481|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The supratemporal is a common component of the skull in many extinct [amphibians](/source/Amphibian), though it is apparently absent in the lightweight skulls of living [lissamphibians](/source/Lissamphibia) (frogs and salamanders). [Embryological](/source/Embryology) studies of [salamanders](/source/Salamander) suggests that the supratemporal fuses with the squamosal in early development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schoch |first=Rainer R. |date=2014 |title=Amphibian skull evolution: The developmental and functional context of simplification, bone loss and heterotopy |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jez.b.22599 |journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution |language=en |volume=322 |issue=8 |pages=619–630 |doi=10.1002/jez.b.22599|bibcode=2014JEZB..322..619S |url-access=subscription }}</ref> A separate supratemporal was retained by early [synapsids](/source/Synapsid) and [reptiles](/source/Reptile), but was strongly reduced in many groups. [Squamates](/source/Squamata) (lizards and snakes) still possess a small supratemporal, though [archosaurs](/source/Archosaur) ([crocodilians](/source/Crocodilia) and [birds](/source/Bird)) and [mammals](/source/Mammal) lack it. Some extinct [turtle](/source/turtle) relatives (like ''[Proganochelys](/source/Proganochelys)'') have a prominent supratemporal, but it is absent or fused to adjacent bones in modern turtles.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gaffney |first1=Eugene S. |last2=Meeker |first2=Lorraine J. |date=1983-03-01 |title=Skull morphology of the oldest turtles: a preliminary description of Proganochelys quenstedti |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1983.10011953 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=25–28 |doi=10.1080/02724634.1983.10011953 |bibcode=1983JVPal...3...25G |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bever |first1=G. S. |last2=Lyson |first2=Tyler R. |last3=Field |first3=Daniel J. |last4=Bhullar |first4=Bhart-Anjan S. |date=2015 |title=Evolutionary origin of the turtle skull |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281541882 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=525 |issue=7568 |pages=239–242 |doi=10.1038/nature14900 |bibcode=2015Natur.525..239B |s2cid=4401555 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{Tetrapod osteology|S.}}

Category:Fish anatomy
Category:Amphibian anatomy
Category:Reptile anatomy
Category:Skull bones
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Supratemporal bone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supratemporal_bone) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supratemporal_bone?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.