At early tailbud stage, expressed in the pharyngeal endoderm, concentrated within the pharyngeal clefts. Also expressed in the mesenchymal head cells in the future infrarostral cartilage. Beginning at the mid-tailbud stage, expressed in the muscular layer of the midgut. Expressed at a low level throughout all developmental stages. Expression levels significantly increase after the mid-tailbud stage and are maintained through the tadpole stage (stage 40). Based on similarity to Drosophila 'bagpipe/bap', the name 'zampogna' was chosen after an Italian musical instrument related to the Scottish bagpipe. Belongs to the NK-3 homeobox family.