Valenciennellus tripunctulatus
Species of fish From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus, commonly called the constellationfish,[3] is a species of fish in the family Sternoptychidae (hatchetfish).[4][5][6]
| Valenciennellus tripunctulatus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Stomiiformes |
| Family: | Sternoptychidae |
| Genus: | Valenciennellus |
| Species: | V. tripunctulatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Valenciennellus tripunctulatus (Esmark, 1871) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Description
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus is small, growing no longer than 3.1 cm (1.2 in).[7] It darkens its body at night by pigment dispersion. It is silvery-white in colour with several black spots; the name tripunctulatus ("three-spotted") refers to the larger spots on their ventral surface, although there are often more than three of these.[8]
Habitat
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus lives all the world's non-polar oceans. It is bathypelagic and non-migratory, living at depths of 100–1,000 m (330–3,280 ft).[7][9]
Behaviour
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus is a selective daytime feeder on copepods (mainly Pleuromamma) and ostracods (such as Conchoecia).[10]
It breeds year-round, with egg batches about 100–360 eggs per ovary pair, the number increasing with animal size.[7] It does not guard its eggs.[11]
References
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