Probable transcription factor. Absent from the notochord. First located in the neuroectoderm of gastrula stage embryos. Located within the paraxial mesoderm of neurulae, but not within the myotome. In tailbud embryos, strongly expressed in the developing somites, with levels highest at the dorsal and ventral margins. Beginning at stage 25, additional expression is observed within migrating ventral abdominal muscle precursors, in cranial neural crest cells surrounding the eye and in cranial crest cells that migrate to the second and third visceral arches. Also expressed in the diencephalon. At stage 31, expressed diffusely in the proctodeum, becoming concentrated within the terminal part of the gut in hatched tadpoles. In the head, expressed in the facial mesenchyme being most prominent at the site where the two halves of the lower jaw fuse. Zygotic expression begins at the late gastrula stage, increases during neurulation and becomes most abundant at tailbud stages, then continues at a lower level in tadpoles. Was originally thought to be a FoxD1 protein but further sequence comparisons (PubMed:11804794 and PubMed:15656969) clearly suggests that it belongs to the FoxD2 subclass.