overlaps chondrocranium cartilage occipital arch cartilage Cranial cartilage which is a paired anterodorsal projection of the posterior end of the parachordal cartilage. It lies lateral to the notochord, just anterior to the posterior tip of the otic capsule. The bilaterally paired occipital arch cartilages fuse anterodorsally to the posterior edges of the auditory capsules and meet medially as the tectum synoticum (by 12 dpf). TAO:0001504 teleost_anatomy neurocranium