Artery that extends horizontally across the brain midline which is fed by the caudal division of the internal carotid artery. Three pairs of central arteries extend from the basal communicating artery (BCA), the anterior, middle and posterior mesencephalic central arteries. The BCA does not correspond to the anterior communicating artery of the mammalian circle of Willis. The BCA is unpaired. [ ORCiD:0000-0002-2244-7917 GOC:cvs http://zfin.org/ZDB-PUB-010205-5 ]