In Other Animals
In early lobe-finned fishes and ancestral tetrapods, the lacrimal bone is a relatively large and robust bone, running from the orbit to the nostrils. It forms part of the side of the face, between the nasal bones and the maxilla. In primitive forms, it is often accompanied by a much smaller septomaxilla bone, lying immediately behind the nasal opening, but this is lost in most modern species. The lacrimal bone is often smaller in living vertebrates, and is no longer always directly associated with the nasal opening, although it retains its connection with the orbit. The bone is entirely absent in living amphibians, as well as some reptilian species.
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