How is food digested in a lancelet?

Lancelets are suspension feeders that extract small particles from the water using a specialized filtering mechanism. The process begins as water is drawn into the mouth by the beating action of cilia on the gill slits.123

To capture food, the endostyle on the floor of the pharynx secretes a sheet of mucus. This mucus traps suspended food particles as it moves upward along the gills. The food-laden mucus is then rolled up and transported to the intestine for digestion and absorption.12

Lancelets lack a distinct stomach. Their digestive tract is a relatively simple tube, though it includes a blind outpouching called the caecum, which is considered analogous to the vertebrate liver and pancreas. Notably, unlike many other chordates, lancelets are capable of phagocytosis, a digestive process where individual cells envelop food particles.13