Heliocapensis
| Heliocapensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female H. capensis | |
 | |
| female H. deserticola | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Heliocapensis Wesołowska, 1986[1] |
| Type species | |
| Heliocapensis peckhami | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
Heliocapensis is a mainly South African genus of the spider family Salticidae (jumping spiders).
Distribution
[edit]Most species in this genus are endemic to South Africa, with a few found in .[2]
Life style
[edit]These are free-living spiders found on the ground or plant-dwellers collected from various habitat types.[3]
Description
[edit]These are small salticids, measuring between 3.0 and 4.5 mm in length.[3]
Males are characterized by black coloration with distinctive white markings. A thin line traverses the anterior region of the abdomen, accompanied by two or three pairs of rounded or obliquely-oriented white markings. These markings consist of white setae or microscopic scales and tend to fade as the specimen ages.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]The genus Heliocapensis was elevated from a subgenus of Heliophanus C. L. Koch, 1833 by Wesołowska in 2024.[4]
Species
[edit]
female H. aberdarensis
female H. capensis
female H. peckhami
As of October 2025[update], this genus includes fourteen species:[2]
- Heliocapensis aberdarensis (Wesołowska, 1986) – Kenya, South Africa
- Heliocapensis bellus (Wesołowska, 1986) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis capensis (Wesołowska, 1986) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis charlesi (Wesołowska, 2003) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis chikangawanus (Wesołowska, 1986) – Angola, Malawi
- Heliocapensis claviger (Simon, 1901) – Mozambique, South Africa
- Heliocapensis deserticola (Simon, 1901) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis lola Wesołowska & Henrard, 2025 – Guinea
- Heliocapensis maluti (Wesołowska & Haddad, 2014) – South Africa, Lesotho
- Heliocapensis mirabilis (Wesołowska, 1986) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis peckhami (Simon, 1902) – South Africa (type species)
- Heliocapensis portentosus (Wesołowska, 1986) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis redimitus (Simon, 1910) – South Africa
- Heliocapensis termitophagus (Wesołowska & Haddad, 2002) – South Africa
References
[edit]- ↑ Wesołowska, W. (1986). "A revision of the genus Heliophanus C. L. Koch, 1833 (Aranei: Salticidae)". Annales Zoologici, Warszawa. 40: 1–254.
- 1 2 3 "Gen. Heliocapensis Wesołowska, 1986". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
- 1 2 3 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Walt, V. van der; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2025). The Salticidae of South Africa. Part 3 (He-Iran). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 1. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17103454.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license. - ↑ Wesołowska, W. (2024). "Taxonomic notes on the genus Heliophanus C.L. Koch, 1833, with description of three additional genera (Araneae: Salticidae: Chrysillini)". Zootaxa. 5405 (1): 80–92. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5405.1.3.
