Heliocapensis deserticola
| Desert Heliocapensis Sunny Jumping Spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Genus: | Heliocapensis |
| Species: | H. deserticola
|
| Binomial name | |
| Heliocapensis deserticola | |
Heliocapensis deserticola is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the desert Heliocapensis sunny jumping spider.[3]
Distribution
Heliocapensis deserticola is known only from a few localities in three provinces of South Africa including Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape.[3] Locations include Cradock, Hogsback, Verloren Vallei Nature Reserve, Dullstroom, De Aar, Goegap Nature Reserve, Nababeep district, and Namaqua National Park.[3]
Habitat and ecology
H. deserticola is a ground and plant dwelling species recorded from the Succulent Karoo and Grassland biomes at altitudes ranging from 881 to 1999 m.[3]
Description
-
female
-
female
-
female
Etymology
The species name is Latin for "desert-dwelling".
Taxonomy
The male was described by Simon in 1901 and the female was added by Wesołowska in 1986.[1][4] The species was transferred to Heliocapensis by Wesołowska in 2024.[5]
Conservation
Heliocapensis deserticola is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographic range.[3] There are no known threats and the species is protected in Verloren Vallei Nature Reserve and Goegap Nature Reserve.[3]
References
- ^ a b Simon, E. (1901). "Etudes arachnologiques. 31e Mémoire. XLVIII. Etude sur les Heliophanus d'Afrique et de Madagascar". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 70 (1): 52–61. doi:10.1080/21686351.1901.12279316.
- ^ "Heliocapensis deserticola (Simon, 1901)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d e f Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Van der Walt, V.; 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. 27. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17103454. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Wesołowska, W. (1986). "A revision of the genus Heliophanus C. L. Koch, 1833 (Aranei: Salticidae)". Annales Zoologici, Warszawa. 40: 1–254.
- ^ 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. PMID 38480396.