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); occidentalis: The Latin adjective occidentalis means 'western' or 'westerly' and refers to the distribution of this species, which is the westernmost species of the genus (Ref. 94534).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa:region between the Senegal River, Senegal, in the west to the Cavally River, Ivory Coast, in the east (Ref. 88135, 94534).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 39.6 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 130826)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Diagnosis: This species can be distinguished from all other Hepsetus species by the following unique combination of characters: number of lateral line scales high, 49–60; nostril-lower jaw distance high, 40.4–47.6% of head length; number of gill rakers on first arch low, 14–22; number of scales between dorsal fin and lateral line 7.5-9.5; and number of scales between adipose fin and lateral line 4.5-6.5 (Ref. 88135).
The capture, in the Senegal River, of an individual measuring 510 mm SL has been mentioned, but not confirmed; the collections of the Museum of natural History in Paris include a head that is said to belong to a specimen collected in the Cavally River measuring 700 mm TL and wighing 4.000 g (Ref. 2914, 81278).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Decru, E., J. Snoeks and E. Vreven, 2013. The true identity of the holotype of Hepsetus odoe and the names of the two West African species of Hepsetus (Teleostei: Hepsetidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 24(2):187-192. (Ref. 94534)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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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=0.00562 (0.00189 - 0.01676), b=3.16 (2.92 - 3.41), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (30 of 100).
