Branchiostoma lanceolatum
(Pallas, 1774) · speciesAt a glance
Sources10 archives
Databases and archives Branchiostoma lanceolatum's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation13 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility6 788 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System7 622 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI118 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics65 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
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.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Habitat & environment3
Other traits2
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Branchiostoma lanceolatum has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Branchiostoma lanceolatum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard periods (Jurassic, Cretaceous…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. The dashed rules marked ✦ are the five great mass extinctions. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type14 410 records
Origin
Range
Depth
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions16 of 58 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| CEFASlocation not on record | 1 310 |
| Citadel Hill, GB | 314 |
| 730location not on record | 300 |
| AZTIlocation not on record | 245 |
| RWSlocation not on record | 208 |
| Institut Francais pour l'Etude de la Merlocation not on record | 168 |
| Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO)location not on record | 161 |
| 486location not on record | 96 |
| DASSHlocation not on record | 55 |
| Gothenburg, SE | 32 |
| Stockholm, SE | 24 |
| ICESlocation not on record | 24 |
| Paris, FR | 24 |
| Hellenic Centre of Marine Research; Institute for Oceanographylocation not on record | 19 |
| Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, Ltd. The National Institute of Oceanographylocation not on record | 19 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 15 |
| Bergen, NO | 15 |
| Cambridge, US | 14 |
| Eco laboratory geochemistry Benthic Environments UMR 8222 (4503) Université de Liège Underwater research and oceanographic station (4501)location not on record | 13 |
| University of Oslo (UiO)location not on record | 13 |
| UGentlocation not on record | 12 |
| Université de Liège Underwater research and oceanographic station (4501)location not on record | 11 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 7 |
| Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Scienceslocation not on record | 6 |
| 5 | |
| Eco laboratory geochemistry Benthic Environments UMR 8222 (4503)location not on record | 4 |
| Eco laboratory geochemistry Benthic Environments UMR 8222 (4503) Phaxas Expertise Of Marine Fauna (4507)location not on record | 4 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 3 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 3 |
| Helsinki, FI | 3 |
| Stockholm, SE | 3 |
| Marine Biological Association of the UKlocation not on record | 2 |
| Earth Sciences New Zealandlocation not on record | 2 |
| WMR_IMARESlocation not on record | 2 |
| South Kensington, GB | 2 |
| ZWIlocation not on record | 2 |
| Barcelona, ES | 2 |
| Laboratoria di biologia marina di Triestelocation not on record | 2 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 2 |
| Los Angeles, US | 2 |
| Gotland Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Tromsø, NO | 1 |
| ICM-CSIClocation not on record | 1 |
| CSIC-CEAB Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (1393) Eco laboratory geochemistry Benthic Environments UMR 8222 (4503) Université de Liège Underwater research and oceanographic station (4501)location not on record | 1 |
| CSIC-CEAB Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (1393) Phaxas Expertise Of Marine Fauna (4507)location not on record | 1 |
| FEMlocation not on record | 1 |
| Zoological Museum, Moscow Lomonosov State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| CASlocation not on record | 1 |
| ARMS-MBONlocation not on record | 1 |
| Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Researchlocation not on record | 1 |
| Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ)location not on record | 1 |
| Natural History Museum, Londonlocation not on record | 1 |
| Washington, US | 1 |
| Rijkswaterstaatlocation not on record | 1 |
| Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas (IBSS), Ukrainelocation not on record | 1 |
| Copenhagen, DK | 1 |
| Biomorlocation not on record | 1 |
| CSIC-CEAB Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (1393) Eco laboratory geochemistry Benthic Environments UMR 8222 (4503)location not on record | 1 |
Where the DNA of Branchiostoma lanceolatum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Measured at samplingin-field
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.