Hepsetus

Hepsetus
Hepsetus lineatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Characiformes
Suborder: Characoidei
Family: Hepsetidae
C. L. Hubbs, 1939
Genus: Hepsetus
Swainson, 1838
Type species
Salmo odoe
Bloch, 1794
Synonyms

Hepsetus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the monotypic family Hepsetidae, the African pikes or African pike characins, in the order Characiformes. It was long believed that only a single widespread species existed, H. odoe, but studies in 2011–2013 have shown that this species is restricted to parts of West and Central Africa. The well-known species of southern Africa, including Kafue River, is Hepsetus cuvieri. These predatory fish reach up to 44 cm (17 in) in length.

A 2024 study found their closest relatives to be the newly defined family Lepidarchidae, which they diverged from during the Late Cretaceous. The divergence of these two families appears to have been driven by the Trans-Saharan Seaway, which served as a marine barrier between western and eastern Africa at the time.

Species

There are currently six recognized species in this genus:

Synonym:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Hepsetidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Nelson, J. S. (2006). Fishes of the World (4 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-0-471-25031-9.
  3. 1 2 Zengeya, T. A.; Decru, E. & Vreven, E. (2011). "Revalidation of Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861) (Characiformes: Hepsetidae) from the Quanza, Zambezi and southern part of the Congo ichthyofaunal provinces". Journal of Natural History. 45 (27–28): 1723–1744. Bibcode:2011JNatH..45.1723Z. doi:10.1080/00222933.2011.560724. hdl:10019.1/122961.
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Hepsetus". FishBase. December 2020 version.
  5. ↑ Melo, Bruno F; Stiassny, Melanie L J (2024-01-01). "Phylogenomic and anatomical evidence for the Late Cretaceous diversification of African characiform fishes, including a new family, under the influence of the Trans-Saharan Seaway". Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society. 3 (1) kzae030. doi:10.1093/evolinnean/kzae030. ISSN 2752-938X.
  6. ↑ Melo, Bruno F; Stiassny, Melanie L J (2024-01-01). "Phylogenomic and anatomical evidence for the Late Cretaceous diversification of African characiform fishes, including a new family, under the influence of the Trans-Saharan Seaway". Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society. 3 (1) kzae030. doi:10.1093/evolinnean/kzae030. ISSN 2752-938X.
  7. ↑ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Hepsetus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  8. 1 2 Decru, E.; Vreven, E. & Snoeks, J. (2013). "A revision of the Lower Guinean Hepsetus species (Characiformes; Hepsetidae) with the description of Hepsetus kingsleyae sp. nov". Journal of Fish Biology. 82 (4): 1351–1375. Bibcode:2013JFBio..82.1351D. doi:10.1111/jfb.12079. PMID 23557311.
  9. ↑ Decru, E.; Snoeks, J. & Vreven, E. (2015). "Taxonomic evaluation of the Hepsetus from the Congo basin with the revalidation of H. microlepis (Teleostei: Hepsetidae)". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 26 (3): 273–287.
  10. 1 2 Decru, E.; Snoeks, J. & Vreven, E. (2013). "The true identity of the holotype of Hepsetus odoe and the names of the two West African species of Hepsetus (Teleostei: Hepsetidae)". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 24 (2): 187–192.
  11. ↑ Decru, E.; Vreven, E. & Snoeks, J. (January 2012). "A revision of the West African Hepsetus (Characiformes: Hepsetidae) with a description of Hepsetus akawo sp. nov. and a redescription of Hepsetus odoe (Bloch, 1794)". Journal of Natural History. 46 (1–2): 1–23. Bibcode:2012JNatH..46....1D. doi:10.1080/00222933.2011.622055.
  12. ↑ FishBase: Scientific Names where Genus Equals Hepsetus