Hepsetus cuvieri
| Hepsetus cuvieri | |
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| Hepsetus cuvieri, in an Aquarium of Guma Lagoon Camp in the Okavango Delta | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Hepsetidae |
| Genus: | Hepsetus |
| Species: | H. cuvieri |
| Binomial name | |
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Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861) |
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Hepsetus cuvieri, sometimes known as the African pike or Kafue pike characin, is a predatory freshwater fish found mainly in southern Africa. This species was described in 1861 by the French naturalist Francis de Laporte de Castelnau.
Mainly in the southern third of Africa, has been recorded in the following river systems Quanza, Cunene, Okavango, upper Zambezi and Kafue River systems. Also within the Congo River basin, especially in the southernmost part of the Kasai Basin and the lower Luapula.
H. cuvieri can be distinguished from Hepsetus odoe as it has a lower count of gill rakers on the first gill arch, of 8–13 as opposed to 14–21; a normally higher number of scales between the lateral line and the dorsal fin, 10.5–11.5 as opposed to 7.5–10.5; a typically higher number of scales from the adipose fin and the lateral line, 6.5–7.5 as opposed to 4.5–6.5; and a distinctive colour pattern characterized by a mottled appearance of the dark brown blotches on the lateral surface of the body versus distinct vertical brown stripes in that region in H. odoe.
This species reaches maturity at 25 cm and the maximum length recorded is 37 cm.
H. cuvieri prefers quiet, deep water, such as channels and oxbow lakes; the juveniles and fry inhabit dense marginal vegetation. The adults are mainly piscivorous while juveniles feed on smaller prey such as invertebrates and small fish.H. cuvieri is a lurking, ambush predator found in marginal swamps and lagoons of large floodplain rivers. It breeds over the summer months, spawning more than once in a free-floating bubblenest which the adults guard; it is relatively short-lived, only living for 4–5 years.
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