A jaw muscle that arises from cranial mesenchyme and is innervated by cranial nerves. [ https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=bn%3A0073040584 ]
Synonyms: branchiomeric skeletal muscle branchial head muscle
Term information
The branchiomeric muscle is derived from cranial mesoderm and controls facial expression, pharyngeal and laryngeal function, operating the jaw. Branchiomeric muscles of mammals correspond to the musculature of fish[GO][GO:0014707].
It has been hypothesized that Haikouella must have been powered by branchiomeric muscles, as in living craniates, rather than by water moving through the pharynx via ciliary currents, as in lancelets[http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/content/42/4/743.full]