Abstract The skeleton of Siluriformes is characterized by several autapomorphies, including secondary absence, extreme modification, and purported fusion of several ossifications. Although well documented in adults, information on skeletal development in catfishes is relatively sparse and typically focused on particular regions of the skeleton (e.g., Weberian apparatus). To further our understanding of the siluriform skeleton, I document the development of the entire skeleton in two ictalurid species, Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish) and Noturus gyrinus (tadpole madtom) from five days pre-hatch to adult. I reexamine the homologies of bones previously hypothesized to represent compound elements in catfishes as well as an additional element only known to occur in some ictalurids. Development of the skeleton is complete in I. punctatus at 22.4 mm SL and almost complete in N. gyrinus (except dorsal- and anal-fin distal radials) at 14.1 mm SL. No signs of ontogenetic fusion were observed in any of the purported compound elements. Previous hypotheses of the homology of these elements and of additional ossifications are reviewed in light of developmental information obtained herein. No dermal parietal component is present at any stage in the so-called parieto-supraoccipital. The bone is the supraoccipital which ossifies from two lateral centers of ossification which later fuse, rather than from a median center. The ‘posttemporo-supracleithrum’ originates from a single center of ossification and represents the supracleithrum. The posttemporal is present in ictalurids and many other catfishes as a canal-bearing bone between the supracleithrum and the pterotic, a bone sometimes identified as the extrascapular. The extrascapular is missing in catfishes. Ictalurids have an additional dermal bone above the posttemporal, which is either an independently ossifying fragment of the posttemporal or a neoformation restricted to some members of this family. The single chondral bone of the pectoral girdle originates from a single center of ossification that represents the coracoid. The scapula is missing in catfishes. Dorsal-fin distal radial 2 is absent in catfishes and the foramen of dorsal-fin spine 2 is formed from modifications to the base of the fin-ray itself. Unlike loricarioid catfishes, the urohyal of ictalurids originates solely as an ossification of the sternohyoideus tendons. The anteriormost infraorbital element ossifies from a single center of ossification around the infraorbital sensory canal and represents the lacrimal. The antorbital is missing in catfishes. Finally, skeletal development of I. punctatus is compared to that available for other otophysans, including the cypriniforms Danio rerio and Enteromius holotaenia and the characiform Salminus brasiliensis.