Hepsetus
Genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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| Hepsetus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hepsetus lineatus | |
Scientific 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 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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]
- Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861)[3]
- Hepsetus kingsleyae Vreven, Decru & Snoeks, 2013[8]
- Hepsetus lineatus (Pellegrin, 1926)[8]
- Hepsetus microlepis (Boulenger, 1901)[9]
- Hepsetus occidentalis Decru, Snoeks & Vreven, 2013[10]
- Hepsetus odoe (Bloch, 1794)[11]
Synonym:
- Hepsetus akawo Decru, Vreven & Snoeks, 2012 = Hepsetus odoe[10][12]
