Lancelet
Branchiostoma lanceolatum (Pallas, 1774)
Status not recordedother invertebrates
The lancelet (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) is an animal in the phylum Chordata, class Leptocardii and family Branchiostomatidae, listed in the animal group Other invertebrates. Its scientific name carries the authority (Pallas, 1774), and it belongs to the genus Branchiostoma in the kingdom Animalia.
Quick facts about the lancelet
Other English names for it include Common Lancelot, European lancelet, European amphioxus and Amphioxus, lancelet.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the lancelet
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the lancelet live?
Not recorded
What is the lancelet?
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 evolutionary development of vertebrates.
From the Wikipedia article “Branchiostoma lanceolatum” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Branchiostoma_lanceolatum&oldid=1376789844), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the lancelet endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the lancelet classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classLeptocardii
- familyBranchiostomatidae
- genusBranchiostoma
- SpeciesBranchiostoma lanceolatum (Pallas, 1774)
Synonyms Amphioxus lanceolatum, Amphioxus lanceolatus, Brachiostoma lanceolatum, Branchiostoma haecklii, Branchiostoma lubricum, Branchistoma lanceolatum, Limax lanceolatus
Other names and names in other languages (29)
- Amphioxus, lanceletEnglish
- Common LancelotEnglish
- European amphioxusEnglish
- European lanceletEnglish
- CefalocordatCatalan
- kopinatec plžovitýCzech
- lancetfiskDanish
- LanzettierchenGerman
- LanzettfischchenGerman
- BrankiostomuloEsperanto
- Pez lancetaSpanish
- SuikulaisetFinnish
- lanceletFrench
- amphioxusFrench
- BranchiostomaItalian
- ナメクジウオJapanese
- 두색동물Korean
- lansettfiskNorwegian Bokmål
- lancetvisjeDutch
- lansettfiskNorwegian Nynorsk
- LansettfiskerNorwegian
- LancetnikPolish
- szparoskrzelec lancetowatyPolish
- CephalochordataPortuguese
- AnfioxoPortuguese
- европейский ланцетникRussian
- KopijovceSlovak
- lansettfiskSwedish
- 文昌鱼Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the lancelet
Other species in the same genus Branchiostoma.
Florida lancelet
Branchiostoma floridae
Caribbean lancelet
Branchiostoma caribaeum
California lancelet
Branchiostoma californiense
Mud lancelet
Branchiostoma bennetti
Cape lancelet
Branchiostoma capense
Japanese lancelet
Branchiostoma japonicum
CompareLancelet vs Florida lanceletLancelet vs Caribbean lanceletLancelet vs California lanceletLancelet vs Mud lancelet
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the lancelet?
The lancelet is a member of the phylum Chordata and the class Leptocardii, placed in the animal group Other invertebrates.
What is the scientific name of the lancelet?
The scientific name of the lancelet is Branchiostoma lanceolatum.
What family does the lancelet belong to?
The lancelet belongs to the family Branchiostomatidae, in the genus Branchiostoma.
What other names does the lancelet have?
Other English names for the lancelet are Common Lancelot, European lancelet, European amphioxus and Amphioxus, lancelet.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Lancelet (Branchiostoma lanceolatum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lancelet
“Lancelet (Branchiostoma lanceolatum).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lancelet.
@misc{lancelet_2026,
title = {Lancelet (Branchiostoma lanceolatum)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lancelet},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}