Hepsetus Explained

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.[1] These predatory fish reach up to 44cm (17inches) in length.

A 2024 study found their closest relatives to be the newly defined family Lepidarchidae, which they diverged from during the Late Cretaceous.[2] 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.[3]

Species

There are currently six recognized species in this genus:

Synonym:

Notes and References

  1. Zengeya . T. A. . Decru . E. . Eva Decru . Vreven . E. . Emmanuel Vreven. amp . Revalidation of Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861) (Characiformes: Hepsetidae) from the Quanza, Zambezi and southern part of the Congo ichthyofaunal provinces . Journal of Natural History . 2011 . 45 . 27–28 . 1723–1744 . 10.1080/00222933.2011.560724. 2011JNatH..45.1723Z .
  2. 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 . 10.1093/evolinnean/kzae030 . 2752-938X. free .
  3. 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 . 10.1093/evolinnean/kzae030 . 2752-938X. free .
  4. Decru . E. . Vreven . E. . Snoeks . J. . amp . A revision of the Lower Guinean Hepsetus species (Characiformes; Hepsetidae) with the description of Hepsetus kingsleyae sp. nov. . Journal of Fish Biology . 2013 . 82 . 4 . 1351–1375 . 10.1111/jfb.12079 . 23557311. 2013JFBio..82.1351D .
  5. Decru . E. . Snoeks . J. . Vreven . E. . amp . Taxonomic evaluation of the Hepsetus from the Congo basin with the revalidation of H. microlepis (Teleostei: Hepsetidae) . Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters . 2015 . 26 . 3 . 273–287 .
  6. Decru . E. . Snoeks . J. . Vreven . E. . amp . 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 . 2013 . 24 . 2 . 187–192 .
  7. Decru . E. . Vreven . E. . Snoeks . J. . amp . 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 . January 2012 . 46 . 1–2 . 1–23 . 10.1080/00222933.2011.622055. 2012JNatH..46....1D .
  8. http://www.fishbase.org/Nomenclature/ScientificNameSearchList.php? FishBase: Scientific Names where Genus Equals Hepsetus

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