Name
Branchiostoma
amphioxus, lancetfish
Framing
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Cephalochordata
Genus: Branchiostoma
Habitat
Aquatic, marine. Benthic, half-buried in sand with shells between 4 and 15 m deep, although it can swim.
Feeding
Filter. It feeds on plankton and organic matter.
Distribution
Genus present in all tropical and temperate seas.
Conservation status
Not threatened.
Additional information
Pisciform chordate up to 6 cm, with an elongated body compressed laterally, with both ends pointed. Dorsal fin in the form of a fold from the rostrum to the apex of the tail, small caudal fin widened at the posterior end and a mouth surrounded by oral cirri at the anterior end. The epidermis is translucent and reveals rows of muscle bundles and ventrally a row of coloured gonads.
Additional information
Bibliography
- Fuentes, M. et al. (2007) Insights into spawning behavior and development of the european amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum). Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 308B: 484-493. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.b.21179
- Igawa, T., Nozawa, M., Suzuki, D.G. et al. (2017) Evolutionary history of the extant amphioxus lineage with shallow-branching diversification. Sci Rep 7, 1157. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00786-5
- Nieuwenhuys R. (1998) Amphioxus. In: The Central Nervous System of Vertebrates. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18262-4_9