Valenciennellus tripunctulatus | |
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Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Stomiiformes |
Family: | Sternoptychidae |
Genus: | Valenciennellus |
Species: | V. tripunctulatus
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Binomial name | |
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus (
Esmark, 1871)
| |
Synonyms [2] | |
|
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus, commonly called the constellationfish, [3] is a species of fish in the family Sternoptychidae (hatchetfish). [4] [5] [6]
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]
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]
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]
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] | |
|
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus, commonly called the constellationfish, [3] is a species of fish in the family Sternoptychidae (hatchetfish). [4] [5] [6]
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]
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]
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]