genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...
of lancelet
The lancelets ( or ), also known as amphioxi (singular: amphioxus ), consist of some 30 to 35 species of "fish-like" benthic filter feeding chordates in the order Amphioxiformes. They are the modern representatives of the subphylum Cephalochorda ...
s (order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
Amphioxiformes). It is the type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* Ty ...
genus of family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Branchiostomatidae
Branchiostomatidae is a family of lancelets belonging to the class Leptocardii, order unknown.
Genera:
* '' Asymmetron'' Andrews, 1893
* ''Branchiostoma'' Costa, 1834
* ''Epigonichthys'' Peters, 1876
* '' Epigonopterus'' Jordan & Gilbert, 1882
...
.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxon, taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with vertebral column, backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the ...
s. The scientific name means "gill-mouth", referring to their anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
– unlike vertebrates, they do not have a true head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...
(with a skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, t ...
capsule, eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
s, nose
A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next pass ...
, a well-developed brain
The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...
etc.), but merely a mouth adjacent to the gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...
-slits, with the slightly enlarged anterior
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
end of the dorsal nerve cord
The dorsal nerve cord is a unique feature to chordates, and it is mainly found in the Vertebrata chordate subphylum. The dorsal nerve cord is only one embryonic feature unique to all chordates, among the other four chordate features-- a notochord, ...
above and in front of them. It dislikes the light.
Like all lancelets, they are filter feeder
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...
s that hide in the sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...
most of the time. The genus inhabits coastal waters throughout the world.
Species
* ''Branchiostoma africae
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Hubbs, 1927
* ''Branchiostoma arabiae
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Webb, 1957
* ''Branchiostoma bazarutense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Gilchrist, 1923
* ''Branchiostoma belcheri
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Gray, 1847 (Belcher's lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma bennetti
''Branchiostoma bennetti'', the mud lancelet, is a lancelet of the genus '' Branchiostoma'' endemic to the Gulf of Mexico, where it is found in the northern part.
Description
Like other lancelets in the genus ''Branchiostoma'', ''B. bennetti' ...
'' Boschung & Gunter, 1966 (Mud lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma bermudae
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Hubbs, 1922
* ''Branchiostoma californiense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Andrews, 1893 (Californian lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma capense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Gilchrist, 1902
* ''Branchiostoma caribaea
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Sundevall, 1853 (Caribbean lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma clonasea
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
''
* '' Branchiostoma elongata'' Sundevall, 1852
* ''Branchiostoma floridae
''Branchiostoma floridae'', the Florida lancelet, is a lancelet of the genus ''Branchiostoma''. The genome of this species has been sequenced, revealing that among the chordates, the morphologically simpler tunicates are actually more closely rel ...
'' Hubbs, 1922 (Florida lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma gambiense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Webb, 1958
* ''Branchiostoma indica
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets ( order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Willey, 1901
* ''Branchiostoma japonica
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Willey, 1896 (Pacific lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma lanceolatum
''Branchiostoma lanceolatum'', the European lancelet or Mediterranean amphioxus, is a lancelet in the subphylum Cephalochordata. It is a marine invertebrate with a notochord but no backbone and is used as a model organism to study the evoluti ...
'' Pallas, 1774 (European lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma leonense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Webb, 1956
* ''Branchiostoma longirostra
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name ...
'' Boschung, 1983 (Shellhash lancelet)
* ''Branchiostoma malayana
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Webb, 1956
* ''Branchiostoma moretonense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Kelly, 1966; ''nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
''
* ''Branchiostoma nigeriense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name ...
'' Webb, 1955
* ''Branchiostoma platae
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name m ...
'' Hubbs, 1922
* ''Branchiostoma senegalense
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Webb, 1955
* ''Branchiostoma tattersalli
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Hubbs, 1922
* ''Branchiostoma virginiae
''Branchiostoma'' is one of the few living genera of lancelets (order Amphioxiformes). It is the type genus of family Branchiostomatidae.
These small vaguely eel- or snake-like animals are close relatives of vertebrates. The scientific name me ...
'' Hubbs, 1922 (Virginian lancelet)
References
External links
*Branchiostoma
Cephalochordata Taxa named by Oronzio Gabriele Costa Chordate genera {{chordate-stub