Heliocapensis

Heliocapensis is a mainly South African genus of the spider family Salticidae (jumping spiders).

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 Simon, 1902[2]
Species
See text.
Synonyms
Heliophanus

Distribution

Most species in this genus are endemic to South Africa, with a few found in .^[2]

Life style

These are free-living spiders found on the ground or plant-dwellers collected from various habitat types.^[3]

Description

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

The genus Heliocapensis was elevated from a subgenus of Heliophanus C. L. Koch, 1833 by Wesołowska in 2024.^[4]

Species

• 
  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