Editing Quadrate bone (section)

== Function in mammals ==
In [[mammals]], the [[articular]] and quadrate bones have migrated to the [[middle ear]] and are known as the [[malleus]] and '''[[incus]]'''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Homberger, Dominique G.|title=Vertebrate dissection|date=2004|publisher=Thomson Brooks/Cole|others=Walker, Warren F. (Warren Franklin), Walker, Warren F. (Warren Franklin).|isbn=0-03-022522-1|edition=9th|location=Belmont, CA|oclc=53074665}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Luo|first1=Zhexi|last2=Crompton|first2=Alfred W.|date=1994-09-07|title=Transformation of the quadrate (incus) through the transition from non-mammalian cynodonts to mammals|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=14|issue=3|pages=341–374|doi=10.1080/02724634.1994.10011564|issn=0272-4634}}</ref>  Along with the [[stapes]], which is [[Homology (biology)|homologous]] to some reptilian and amphibian [[Columella (auditory system)|columellae]], these are known as the [[ossicles]] and are a defining characteristic of mammals.

=== Development ===
In pig embryos, the mandible ossifies on the side of [[Meckel's cartilage]], while the posterior part of that cartilage is ossified into the incus. In later development, this portion detaches from the rest of the cartilage and migrates into the middle ear.<ref name="Scott">Scott 2000, Paragraph starting with "The original jaw bones changed also. [...] "</ref>