Probable transcription factor. Detected at stage 14 (late gastrula) in a horseshoe-shaped ring surrounding the neural plate. In neurula stage embryos, expressed in the neuroectoderm and pre-somitogenic mesoderm with expression in the outer rim of the neural crest and neural plate at stage 17. Subsequently expressed at different levels in a subset of placodes, excluding the otic and posterior lateral line placodes. In tailbud stages, expressed in neural crest cells that originate from the rhombencephalon and migrate to the ventral part to form the hyoid and anterior branchial arches. At stage 41 (tadpole), expressed in a region of the body wall lateral and posterior to the gills, which is probably the primordium of the ventral trunk. Expression doesn't begin until the late gastrula stage. Levels then accumulate continuously, peaking during tailbud stages (stage 31) before decreasing during the tadpole stages. The foxi1-C gene is not pseudo-allelic to foxi1-A and foxi1-B.