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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); kingsleyae: Dedicated to the British explorer Mary Kingsley (1862–1900), who collected several species of fishes in the area, including a few specimens of Hepsetus, as part of her commitment to A. Günther of the British Museum of Natural History (BMNH, London)(Ref. 93279).
Eponymy: Mary Henrietta Kingsley (1862–1900) was an ethnographic and scientific writer and explorer. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 0°S - 1°S, 9°E - 11°E
Africa: endemic to the Ogowe River basin in Gabon; known from lakes in contact with the Ogowe main channel, or in rivers close to the lakes; not recorded from the Ngounié (Ref. 93279).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 93279)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Diagnosis: distinguished from H. akawo and H. lineata by a narrower head width [26.4–35.6 (mean 33.1) v. 32.8–42.3 (37.0) and 32.8–46.7 (39.4)%HL, respectively] and its narrower internasal distance [15.6–23.3 (mean 20.6) v. 21.9–28.3 (24.7) and 21.5–29.3 (25.1)%HL, respectively]; both characters are positively allometric; distinguished from H. lineata by smaller number of lateral-line scales (45–51 v. 50–64) and higher number of gill rakers [17–23 v. 12–18 (exceptionally 20 in 1 specimen)]; distinguished from H. odoe by smaller number of lateral-line scales [45–51 v. 51–60 (exceptionally 49)] and smaller distance between nostril and lower jaw [33.2–40.9 (mean 38.2) v. 40.4–47.6 (43.1)%HL]; latter character is positively allometric; distinguished from H. cuvieri by higher number of gill rakers (17–23 v. 8–13), lower number of scales between dorsal fin and lateral line (8.5–9.5 v.10.5–11.5), lower number of scales between adipose fin and lateral line (5.5 v. 6.5–7.5) and longer snout [39.3–43.2 (mean 41.0) v. 35.5–38.8 (37.3)%HL]; latter character is positively allometric (Ref. 93279).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Decru, E., E. Vreven and J. Snoeks, 2013. A revision of the Lower Guinean Hepsetus species (Characiformes; Hepsetidae) with the description of Hepsetus kingsleyae sp. nov. J. Fish Biol. 82(4):1351-1375. (Ref. 93279)
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=0.00501 (0.00213 - 0.01181), 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 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (17 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 184 [75, 446] mg/100g; Iron = 2.27 [1.12, 5.25] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [16.3, 20.7] %; Omega3 = 0.371 [0.145, 0.945] g/100g; Selenium = 63 [24, 215] μg/100g; VitaminA = 33.9 [12.3, 90.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.32 [1.62, 3.40] mg/100g (wet weight);
