noun
- Plural of amphioxus; small, fish-like marine animals without a backbone, considered primitive chordates.
Usage: biology; also called lancelets
Examples
- Amphioxuses are studied in biology classes as examples of early chordate evolution.
- The amphioxuses in the research tank were observed for their feeding behavior.
- Scientists collected amphioxuses from the ocean floor to examine their anatomy.
- Unlike fish, amphioxuses lack a true backbone and skull.
- Amphioxuses have been used as model organisms in developmental biology for decades.