Hepsetus

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Wikipedia

Hepsetus
Hepsetus lineatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Suborder: Characoidei
Family: Hepsetidae
C. L. Hubbs, 1939[1]
Genus: Hepsetus
Swainson, 1838[1]
Type species
Salmo odoe
Bloch, 1794[1]
Synonyms[1]

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,[2] 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.[3] These predatory fish reach up to 44 cm (17 in) in length.[4]

A 2024 study found their closest relatives to be the newly defined family Lepidarchidae, which they diverged from during the Late Cretaceous.[5] 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.[6]

Species

There are currently six recognized species in this genus:[4][7]

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.
  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