amphioxus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun small translucent lancet-shaped burrowing marine animal; primitive forerunner of the vertebrates
    lancelet.

WordNet

Am`phi*ox"us noun
Etymology
NL., fr. Gr. + sharp.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A fishlike creature (Amphioxus lanceolatus), two or three inches long, found in temperature seas; -- also called the lancelet. Its body is pointed at both ends. It is the lowest and most generalized of the vertebrates, having neither brain, skull, vertebræ, nor red blood. It forms the type of the group Acrania, Leptocardia, etc.

Webster 1913