Definition of "amphioxus" [am•phi•ox•us]

• See lancelet. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In fact, the very name amphioxus is from Greek words meaning "both-pointed," with reference to the two ends."
• "In passing from the primitive chordates, such as amphioxus, into the vertebrate subphylum, one passes from an unspecialized nerve cord to one in which the anterior end has developed into the brain."
• "This poor beastie is an amphioxus, though a more apposite appellation might have been "anxious"."