Hepsetus is a genus of African fishes, the African pikes or African pike characins, in the order Characiformes. It is the sole genus in the family Hepsetidae. It was long believed that only a single widespread species existed, H. odoe, but studies in 2011–2013 have shown that this species is restricted to parts of West and Central Africa. The well-known species of southern Africa, including Kafue River, is Hepsetus cuvieri. These predatory fish reach up to in length. Species There are currently six recognized species in this genus: Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861) Hepsetus kingsleyae Vreven, Decru & Snoeks, 2013 Hepsetus lineatus (Pellegrin, 1926) Hepsetus microlepis (Boulenger, 1901) Hepsetus occidentalis Decru, Snoeks & Vreven, 2013 Hepsetus odoe (Bloch, 1794) Synonym: Hepsetus akawo Decru, Vreven & Snoeks, 2012 = Hepsetus odoe References Characiformes genera Freshwater fish genera Freshwater fish of Africa Taxa named by William John Swainson