lancelet

[ lans-lit, lahns- ]

noun

any of several small, lancet-shaped burrowing marine animals of the subphylum Cephalochordata, having a notochord and bearing structural similarities to both vertebrates and invertebrates.

Origin of lancelet

First recorded in 1565–75; lance² + -let

Also called amphioxus.

Words Nearby lancelet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lancelet in a sentence

The development of the lancelet presents us with an instance of the two-layered larva, or Gastrula.
Stories of the Universe: Animal Life | B. Lindsay
From the lowest of the Vertebrata, the lancelet, we passed on to the Lamprey, and from that to the true fishes.
Stories of the Universe: Animal Life | B. Lindsay
The human heart may present in degenerates all types from the pulsating vessel found in the lancelet up to that of the mammal.
Degeneracy | Eugene S. Talbot
Nothing of the nature of lung or air-bladder is found in lancelet, lamprey, or shark.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2) | David Starr Jordan
The lowest of the Vertebrata, the lancelet (see p. 140), has a larva of this kind.
Stories of the Universe: Animal Life | B. Lindsay

British Dictionary definitions for lancelet

lancelet

/ (ˈlɑːnslɪt) /

noun

any of several marine animals of the genus Branchiostoma (formerly Amphioxus), esp B. lanceolatus, that are closely related to the vertebrates: subphylum Cephalochordata (cephalochordates): Also called: amphioxus

Origin of lancelet

C19: referring to the slender shape

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for lancelet

lancelet

[ lăns′lĭt ]

Any of various small, transparent, fishlike marine organisms of the subphylum Cephalochordata that are related to vertebrates but have a notochord instead of a true backbone. Unlike other primitive chordates, lancelets have a body divided into serially repeated muscular segments. Also called amphioxus

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