Editing Maxilla (section)

==In other animals==
Sometimes (e.g. in bony fish), the maxilla is called "upper maxilla", with the mandible being the "lower maxilla". Conversely, in birds the upper jaw is often called "upper mandible".

In most vertebrates, the foremost part of the upper jaw, to which the [[incisor]]s are attached in mammals consists of a separate pair of bones, the [[premaxilla]]e. These fuse with the maxilla proper to form the bone found in humans, and some other mammals. In [[Osteichthyes|bony fish]], [[amphibian]]s, and [[reptile]]s, both maxilla and premaxilla are relatively plate-like bones, forming only the sides of the upper jaw, and part of the face, with the premaxilla also forming the lower boundary of the [[nostril]]s. However, in mammals, the bones have curved inward, creating the palatine process and thereby also forming part of the roof of the mouth.<ref name="VB">{{cite book |author=Romer, Alfred Sherwood|author2=Parsons, Thomas S.|year=1977 |title=The Vertebrate Body |publisher=Holt-Saunders International |location= Philadelphia, PA|pages= 217–43|isbn= 0-03-910284-X}}</ref>

[[Bird]]s do not have a maxilla in the strict sense; the corresponding part of their [[beak]]s (mainly consisting of the premaxilla) is called "upper mandible".

[[Chondrichthyes|Cartilaginous fish]], such as sharks, also lack a true maxilla. Their upper jaw is instead formed from a [[cartilage|cartilaginous]] bar that is not [[homology (biology)|homologous]] with the bone found in other vertebrates.<ref name=VB/>