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Teleostei (teleosts) > Characiformes (Characins) > Hepsetidae (African pikes)
Etymology: Hepsetus: Greek, epsetas, -e, -on = boiled, but there is the following sentence: "oí epsetoi" = certain fishes, and also could be related to "psetta" = grouper (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Quanza, Cunene, Okavango, upper Zambezi and Kafue River systems; in the Congo River basin present in the southernmost part of the Kasai basin and in the lower Luapula River (Ref. 93907).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 25.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 37.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30518); max. reported age: 5 years (Ref. 2750)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12. Diagnosis: Hepsetus cuvieri can be distinguished from Hepsetus odoe based on a lower total number of gill rakers on the first gill arch, being 8–13 versus 14–21; a generally higher number of scales between the dorsal fin and the lateral line, 10.5–11.5 versus 7.5–10.5; a typically higher number of scales between the adipose fin and the lateral line, 6.5–7.5 versus 4.5–6.5; and a unique colour pattern characterized by a mottled appearance of the dark brown blotches on the lateral surface of the body versus the presence of vertical brown stripes/bars in that region in Hepsetus odoe (Ref. 93907).

Prefers quiet, deep water, like channels and lagoons of large floodplains; juveniles and fry inhabit well-vegetated marginal habitats (Ref. 7248). Adults feed on fish, juveniles feed on small invertebrates and fish (Ref. 7248). Multiple spawner; breeds over the summer months; relatively short-lived, only 4-5 years; also caught with drawnets (Ref. 7248).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

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Zengeya, T.A., E. Decru and E. Vreven, 2011. Revalidation of Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861) (Characiformes: Hepsetidae) from the Quanza, Zambezi and southern part of the Congo ichthyofaunal provinces. J. Nat. Hist. 45(27-28):1723-1744. (Ref. 93907)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 28 July 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: ; gamefish: yes

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00501 (0.00208 - 0.01208), b=3.13 (2.92 - 3.34), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.0 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Generation time: 4.1 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).

Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861)