Valenciennellus tripunctulatus, commonly called the constellationfish, is a species of fish in the family Sternoptychidae (hatchetfish).
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus is small, growing no longer than . 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.
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus lives all the world's non-polar oceans. It is bathypelagic and non-migratory, living at depths of .
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus is a selective daytime feeder on copepods (mainly Pleuromamma) and ostracods (such as Conchoecia).
It breeds year-round, with egg batches about 100âÂÂ360 eggs per ovary pair, the number increasing with animal size. It does not guard its eggs.