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
editValenciennellus 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
editValenciennellus 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
editValenciennellus 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
edit- ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species".
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Valenciennellus tripunctulatus (Esmark, 1871)". www.marinespecies.org.
- ^ "Valenciennellus tripunctulatus". fishesofaustralia.net.au.
- ^ "Research Report". U.S. Government Printing Office. June 22, 1946 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Fishery Bulletin". National Marine Fisheries Service. June 22, 1989 – via Google Books.
- ^ Boehlert, George W. (June 22, 1992). "Distribution of Ichthyoplankton Around Southeast Hancock Seamount, Central North Pacific, in Summer 1984 and Winter 1985: Data Report" – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Valenciennellus tripunctulatus, Constellationfish". www.fishbase.se.
- ^ Bulletin of the United States National Museum
- ^ Bigelow, Henry B.; Cohen, Daniel M.; Dick, Myvanwy M.; Jr, Robert H. Gibbs; Grey, Marion; Jr, James E. Morrow; Schultz, Leonard P.; Walters, Vladimir (October 23, 2018). Soft-rayed Bony Fishes: Orders Isospondyli and Giganturoidei: Part 4. Yale University Press. ISBN 9781933789149 – via Google Books.
- ^ Andersen, Neil R.; Zahuranec, Bernard J. (June 22, 1977). Oceanic Sound Scattering Prediction. Springer. ISBN 9780306355059 – via Google Books.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Valenciennellus tripunctulatus (Esmark, 1871)". www.marinespecies.org.