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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); odoe: The specific name is possibly derived from the Greek 'odon' which means tooth (Brown 1954) (Ref. 88135).
More on author: Bloch.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 7.5; dH range: ? - 18; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 26°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060)
Africa: easternmost part of West Africa, from the Sassandra River, Ivory Coast, in the west to the Shari River, Central African Republic, in the east; and southwards up to the Kribi River in Cameroon (Ref. 88135). Reports from outside this area refer to other species of Hepsetus (Ref. 88135, 93279, 93907, 108775).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 14.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 44.2 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 83624)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12; Vertebrae: 45 - 49. Diagnosis: This species is distinguished from all other Hepsetus species by the following unique combination of characters: number of lateral line scales low, 43–51; nostril-lower jaw distance short, 36.6–42.1% of head length; number of gill rakers high, 17–23; number of scales between dorsal fin and lateral line 7.5-9.5; number of scales between adipose fin and lateral line 4.5-6.5; head width broad, 32.8–42.3% of head length; and internasal distance high, 21.9–28.3% of head length (Ref. 88135).
This species seems to prefer upper river courses or small rivers where Hydrocynus species are absent or scarce (Ref. 81278).
Builds a free-floating bubblenest.
Decru, E., E. Vreven and J. Snoeks, 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). J. Nat. Hist. 46(1-2):1-23. (Ref. 88135)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00550 (0.00412 - 0.00732), b=3.13 (3.05 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.1 ±0.71 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 3.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.27-0.59; tmax=5; Fec < 10,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 164 [63, 392] mg/100g; Iron = 2.04 [1.02, 4.59] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [16.8, 21.2] %; Omega3 = 0.362 [0.132, 0.962] g/100g; Selenium = 120 [47, 340] μg/100g; VitaminA = 14.6 [5.4, 40.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.47 [0.99, 2.21] mg/100g (wet weight);
