interclavicle

American  

[in-ter-klav-i-kuhl] / ˌɪn tərˈklæv ɪ kəl /

noun

Zoology.

1. a median membrane bone developed between the collarbones, or in front of the breastbone, in many vertebrates.

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interclavicle British  

/ ˌɪntəkləˈvɪkjʊlə, ˌɪntəˈklævɪkəl /

noun

1. a membrane bone between and beneath the clavicles, present in some fossil amphibians, all reptiles except snakes, and monotremes

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Other Word Forms

• interclavicular adjective

Etymology

Origin of interclavicle

First recorded in 1865–70; inter- + clavicle

Example Sentences

Subsequent elimination of the interclavicle in the Anuran line of descent, and decrease of ossification, left a girdle like that of Protobatrachus, Notobatrachus, Ascaphus and Leiopelma.

From The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

In Crocodiles it is a cartilage to which the sternal ribs unite; and upon its front portion a flat knife-like bone called the interclavicle is placed.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by Seeley, H. G.

The interclavicle is absent from all mammals except Echidna and Ornithorhynchus.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by Seeley, H. G.

It is clear that the paired elements of such a girdle were held rigid by their attachment to the interclavicle, via the clavicles.

From The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

There are short lateral processes at the point where the interclavicle was overlapped by the clavicles, but we cannot be sure of the extent of this bone anteriorly or posteriorly.

From A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)