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Glite Dictionary
lancelet

lancelet

1 9.9
A small transparent sea animal that has a long thin body and is related to animals with backbones
  • noun
  • /ˈlænslɪt/
  • Specialized
: lanceolado
  • The lancelet is a small marine animal that resembles a fish with its slender, lance-shaped body.

So the animal that I wrote about in Seven and a Half Lessons is called an ampioxis or a lancelet.

Examples

  • For example, the lancelets may appear like primitive animals from a macroscopic perspective, but their genome isn't shorter than the genome of mammals.

    Blog text (18)

  • Found in shallow waters, lancelets swim using their flexible bodies.

  • Scientists study lancelets because they provide insights into the evolution of vertebrates.

Synonyms

amphioxus
vslancelet
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small, transparent sea animal shaped like a thin lance that burrows in sand and resembles early animals with backbones

is described without the burrowing detail while noted as a primitive relative

How Slender

lancelet
  • Specialized
1 9.9
needlefish
1 7.7
eel
65 1.0

Surface Forms

lancelet singular
lancelets plural

Morphology

lancelet = lance (semi-transparent) = lance + let

The form 'lance' + diminutive '-let' transparently suggests 'small lance', but the sense as a technical biological name for a specific marine animal is specialized and may not be directly inferable to all learners.

Etymology

The word lancelet comes from lance ('spear') and the small ending -let ('little'). So, it means 'little spear', a simple image for a tiny, thin marine animal with a spear-shaped body.