Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Hepsetus cuvieri, the African pike, Southern African pike characin or Kafue pike characin, is a predatory species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the monotypic family Hepsetidae, the African pike characins. This fish is found in southern Africa. It was formerly classified within the single widespread African species Hepsetus odoe but this has now been split into a number of valid species.
Wikipedia contributors, Hepsetus cuvieri; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:47:13.825930+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861)
- Name authority
- (Castelnau, 1861)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Characiformes
- Family
- Hepsetidae
- Genus
- Hepsetus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCharaciformes
- suborderCharacoidei
- familyHepsetidae Hubbs, 1939
- genusHepsetus Swainson, 1838
- speciesHepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hepsetus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Hepsetus kingsleyae Vreven, Decru & Snoeks, 2013 | HepsetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hepsetus odoe (Bloch, 1794) | HepsetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hepsetus lineatus (Pellegrin, 1926) | HepsetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hepsetus microlepis (Boulenger, 1901) | HepsetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hepsetus occidentalis Decru, Snoeks & Vreven, 2013 | HepsetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hydrocyonoides cuvieri Castelnau, 1861 Castelnau, 1861 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1461213 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3KWLV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.