Evolutionary History
The earliest recorded incidence of a Weberian apparatus is from the fossil fish Santanichthys diasii dating from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern Brazil. In the aforementioned taxon, the Weberian apparatus is fairly developed; there is a distinguishable intercalarium and a tripus which articulate with the second and third vertebrae respectively. A scaphium can be seen in at least two specimens. The neural arch of the third vertebrae has already broadened, almost similar to that of modern ostariophysans. The claustrum, an element in modern apparati, is noticeably absent from the Weberian apparatus of S. diasii. Only the first four vertebrae are involved in the Weberian apparatus of Santanichthys; There are no signs of involvement from the elements of the fifth vertebrae unlike in modern otophysans.
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