Helafricanus
Helafricanus is an African genus of the spider family Salticidae.
Distribution
Most species in this genus are endemic to Africa, with two species reaching the Arabic Peninsula and one Iran.
These are free-living spiders found on the ground or plants, collected from a broad range of habitats.
Description
The genus Helafricanus comprises small to medium-sized spiders, measuring 2.5 to 4.5 mm.
Males have a black carapace, in some species with a thin whitish median streak. The abdomen is black, usually with a white leaf-like pattern or a median stripe, sometimes also featuring a thin white line along the lateral edges of the body.
Females have mottled brown and black colouration and an abdominal pattern comprising a light central stripe composed of several pairs of merging spots. Notably, some males exhibit an abdominal pattern similar to females.
Light streaks and patches are composed of white hairs. The diagnostic character of Helafricanus males is the presence of a large palpal patellar apophysis. The structure of the female genital organs is similar in all congeners, with the copulatory openings usually placed at the posterior part of the epigyne.
Taxonomy
The genus Helafricanus was elevated from a subgenus of Heliophanus C. L. Koch, 1833 by Wesołowska in 2024. The type species is Helafricanus patellaris. Fourteen species are known from South Africa.
Species
, this genus includes 46 species:Helafricanus aethiopicus – EthiopiaHelafricanus alienus – CameroonHelafricanus anymphos – KenyaHelafricanus bisulcus – Namibia, South AfricaHelafricanus bolensis – EthiopiaHelafricanus brevis – EthiopiaHelafricanus butemboensis – Ivory Coast, DR Congo, RwandaHelafricanus congolensis – Nigeria, Congo, São Tomé and PríncipeHelafricanus crudeni – TanzaniaHelafricanus debilis – DR Congo, Tanzania, Angola, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, LesothoHelafricanus decempunctatus – EthiopiaHelafricanus demonstrativus – Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, LesothoHelafricanus dux – YemenHelafricanus edentulus – Nigeria, Mediterranean to IranHelafricanus erythropleurus – EthiopiaHelafricanus fascinatus – Ghana, Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda, Botswana, South Africa, YemenHelafricanus furvus – LesothoHelafricanus giltayi – Kenya to AngolaHelafricanus gloriosus – Angola, BotswanaHelafricanus hastatus – South Africa, LesothoHelafricanus heurtaultae – GuineaHelafricanus imperator – Kenya, MalawiHelafricanus insperatus – DR Congo, Angola, Zimbabwe, South AfricaHelafricanus jacksoni – KenyaHelafricanus kenyaensis – Uganda, Kenya, TanzaniaHelafricanus kilimanjaroensis – TanzaniaHelafricanus kovacsi – EthiopiaHelafricanus leucopes – EthiopiaHelafricanus marshalli – South AfricaHelafricanus megae – ZimbabweHelafricanus minutissimus – EthiopiaHelafricanus modicus – South Africa, Lesotho, MadagascarHelafricanus nanus – Namibia, South AfricaHelafricanus papyri – EthiopiaHelafricanus patellaris – South Africa, Lesotho Helafricanus paulus – Nigeria, BotswanaHelafricanus pauper – Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South AfricaHelafricanus pistaciae – Zimbabwe, South AfricaHelafricanus proszynskii – South Africa, LesothoHelafricanus rutrosus – EthiopiaHelafricanus saudis – Saudi Arabia, YemenHelafricanus transversus – LesothoHelafricanus trepidus – Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South AfricaHelafricanus undecimmaculatus – Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, TanzaniaHelafricanus validus – KenyaHelafricanus xanthopes – Ethiopia