The lamina cribrosa of Ornithorhynchus (Monotremata, Mammalia)

A vestigial and transitory lamina cribrosa was found in nestling platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). The heads of two nest-young (180 and 333 mm length), one subadult and one adult Ornithorhynchus were serially sectioned and studied with special reference to the development of the nasal region. In nest-young Ornithorhynchus an irregularly shaped bar of cartilage develops at the foramen olfactorium advehens. In the subadult it is largely resorbed, and in the osseous skull of the adult it is completely lacking. Ontogeny and topographical relationships of this bar of cartilage indicate that it is part of a lamina cribrosa. It embraces the ramus medialis of the nervus ethmoidalis and the arteria ethmoidalis, as do the corresponding parts of the lamina cribrosa of Tachyglossus. Compared to other parts of the chondrocranium this bar develops late in ontogeny, as does the lamina cribrosa of other mammals. Therefore, it can be concluded that part of the lamina cribrosa is present for a short period during the ontogeny of Ornithorhynchus, contrary to earlier reports. As in many other water-adapted mammals, the olfactory system of Ornithorhynchus is reduced. This suggests that the rest of the lamina cribrosa of Ornithorhynchus is secondarily reduced. The common ancestor of Ornithorhynchus and Tachyglossidae most probably possessed a lamina cribrosa which can be traced back to the common mammalian stock. The lamina cribrosa developed only once in the phylogeny of mammals. Its lack in the adult Ornithorhynchus is not a "reptilian" character.