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Amphioxus

  • Chapter
The Central Nervous System of Vertebrates

Abstract

The lancelet Branchiostoma lanceolatum, or amphioxus as it is commonly called, is a small, translucent animal some 4–6 cm in length. Although amphioxus resembles a fish, it has a much simpler organisation (Fig. 9.1). There is no true head, and paired special sense organs are entirely lacking. Its body axis is formed by a well-developed notochord, extending from the very tip of the rostrum (Fig. 9.2) to the end of the tail. As its body shape suggests, the animal is able to swim effectively. The propulsive force is provided by the patterned contractions of the body musculature, which is segmented into a series of some 60 myotomes on either side of the body. The myotomes of the right side alternate with those of the left. There are two modes of undulatory movements during forward swimming, fast and slow, that appear to depend on a differentiation of the muscle fibres, as in cyclostomes and in certain groups of fish (Guthrie 1975). In addition to forward swimming, amphioxus displays backward swimming and is also able to burrow rapidly in the sand with either the rostrum or the tail leading.

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Nieuwenhuys, R. (1998). Amphioxus. In: The Central Nervous System of Vertebrates. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18262-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18262-4_9

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