amphioxus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a lancelet: a small, translucent, fishlike marine chordate that burrows in sand and retains a notochord throughout life

   The amphioxus lacks a skull and vertebral column but has a notochord extending along its body.

From New Latin Amphioxus, a former genus name introduced in the nineteenth century, from Greek amphi-, 'on both sides or at both ends,' + oxys, 'sharp.' The name describes the lancelet's body as pointed at both ends; Amphioxus is now treated as a synonym of Branchiostoma.

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