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Salticidae (Araneae) genera of the world - an atlas
(unfinished manuscript)
by Jerzy Prószyński

Professor Emeritus, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences,
ul. Wilcza 63, 00-679 Warsaw, POLAND

e-mail: jerzy.proszynski@wp.pl

Chapter 4

HELIOPHANINES
informal group of genera

Version August 27th, 2020


symbol of the supragroup CHRYSILLOIDA

 

Exemplary representatives of the group
A-B - Heliophanus cupreus, C-D - Heliophanus equester, E-F - Heliophanus encifer, O-P - Heliophanus dampfi (male & female) (SOURCE - see below)

Composition and links.The following genera and subgenera (deserving elevation to full genera) are included: Heliophanillus Heliophanoides HelafricanusHeliocapensis Heliophanus s. l. Heliophanus Imperceptus Mexcala Paraheliophanus Tasa. Uncertain)


Gen. Heliophanillus Prószyński, 1989
Type species Salticus fulgens. (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 (5 recognizable species)
See more species at Heliophanillus-Q+M


A-F - Heliophanillus fulgens.
SOURCES: A-E - Proszynski 2003b. Ann. zool. 2003: 71-72, f 261-268, F - ©Photo B. Knoflach.. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.


Gen. Heliophanoides Prószyński, 1989
Type species Heliophanoides bhutanicus.(5 recognizable species)
See more species at Heliophanoides-Q+M


A - Heliophanoides bhutanicus, B - Heliophanoides epigynalis, C - Heliophanoides spermathecalis.
SOURCES: A-C - Proszynski 1992b. Annales zoologici, 44, 9: 177-178, fig. 49-56. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Gen. Helafricanus (Wesolowska, 1986) (gen. upgraded)
Type species Helafricanus patellaris Simon, 1901 (49 recognizable species)
See more species Helafricanus-Q


Original description of the genus Helafricanus (then as a subgenus) Wesolowska 1986. Annales Zoologici, 40, 1: 8, 13.

A-D - Helafricanus patellaris, E-F - Helafricanus saudis, G-H - Helafricanus edentulus.
SOURCES: A-B -Wesołowska, 1986 Annales Zoologici, 40: 22, f. 163-175, C-D Wesołowska, Haddad C.R., 2014. African Invertebrates 55 (2), 245-246, f 30-31, 49-55, E-F -Proszynski 1989. Fauna Saudi Arabia. 10: 37, figs 5-8, G-H - Proszynski 2003a. Annales Zoologici 53, 1: 75-77, f 281-286.. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Gen. Heliocapensis (Wesolowska, 1986) (gen. upgraded)
Type species Heliocapensis peckhami Simon, 1902 (13 recognizable species)
See more species Heliocapensis)-Q


Original description of the genus Heliocapensis (then as a subgenus) Wesolowska 1986. Annales Zoologici,40, 1: 8, 13.

Scale of diversity within relatively uniform genus Heliophanus. A-B - Heliocapensis peckhami, C-T -. Heliocapensis termitophagus(E - photo of the same, holding termite larva, F - environment - abandoned termite mound).
SOURCES: A-B - Wesolowska 1986. Annales Zoologici, 40, 1: 8, 13, ff. 18-38, C-D -Wesolowska & Haddad 2002. Tropical Zoology15 (1): 198, f 1-4. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Gen. Heliophanus s. l. Koch C.L.,1833 sensu lato
Type species.Aranea cuprea
Walckenaer, 1802 (77 recognizable species)
See more species Heliophanus)-Q


The genus Heliophanus Koch C.L., 1833 s. l., one of largest in Salticidae and containing before present splittimg 139 recognizable species, was revised by Wesołowska 1968, in a perfect study in which she has checked and documented numerous synonyms and delimited large number of new species. She has formalized structure of the genus by dividing it into three subgenera (disregarded in records of WSC): Helafricanus Wesołowska, 1986, Heliocapensis Wesołowska, 1986 and nominal subgenus Heliophanus Koch C.L., 1833 s. str., in which she supported earlier suggestion of Simon 1903. Now, after three decades of testing in research practice, the conclusions of Wesołowska are fully accepted and do not require revision. It seems, however, that there are no clear character mutual to her three subgenera, so upgrading them to full genera, with retaining the same diagnoses and contents, will facilitate identification and writing keys.. I have consulted proposal of upgrading with Dr Wesołowska and received her consent.
The original diagnoses and exemplary presentation of diagnostic characters are given below.

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*FOOTNOTE. Reclassification of the above species could fit nicely into Memorial Volume of a prominent arachnologist (now in preparation, I am not authorized to betray name of the honored person), unfortunately edition of that Volume fallen into hands of barbarians which do not deserve any contact from me.
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Gen. Heliophanus Koch C.L., 1833 s. str. (gen. upgraded)
Type species.Aranea cuprea Walckenaer, 1802 (77  recognizable species)
See more species Heliophanus)-Q


Original description of the genus Heliophanus (then as a nominal subgenus) Wesolowska 1986. Annales Zoologici, 40, 1: 8, 13.

Scale of diveristy within relatively uniform genus Heliophanus s. str. A-B, G-H -- Heliophanus cupreus, C-D - Heliophanus equester, E-F - Heliophanus encipher, I-J - Heliophanus curvidens, K-N - Heliophanus auratus, O-P - Heliophanus dampfi (male & female).
SOURCES: A-B -,Zabka M. 1997. Fauna Polski 19: 5-187, figs 148-156, C-D -Prószyński, J. (2003). Annales Zoologici, 53: 77, f. 287-295, G-H - ©Photo J. Lissner, I-J - Proszynski 2003a. Annales zoologici: 72-73, figs 269-272, K-L - Zabka, 1997. Fauna Polski 19: : 56, f. 140-147, M-N -©Photo A. Senglet, O-P - ©Photo J. Lissner. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Pending classification UNCERTAIN Heliophanus Wesolowska, 1986 (5 species)

A - "uncertain Heliophanus" ochrichelis, B - uvirensis, C- macentensis, D - "uncertain Heliophanus" horrifer, E - berlandi.
SOURCES: A-F - Wesolowska 1986. Ann. zool. 40, 1: 186, 231 f 871-872 +b) Wesolowska 1986. Ann. zool., 40, 1: 11, 227, ff. 829-830 +b) 11, 223, ff. 776-786+ c) 11, 228, ff. 848-849. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy. .

Gen. Imperceptus Proszynski, 1992
Type species Imperceptus minutus Proszynski J. 1992 (1 recognizable species)
See more species Imperceptus-Q+M


A-B - Imperceptus minutus :Proszynski J. 1992b. Ann. zool. 44, 9: 181, f 65-66.
SOURCES: A-B - Proszynski J. 1992b. Ann. zool. 44, 9: 181, f 65-66. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Gen. Mexcala Peckham & Peckham, 1902
Type species Mexcala rufa Peckham & Peckham, 1902 (21 recognizable species)
See more species Mexcala-Q+M

A - Mexcala rufa, B-D, G - Mexcala elegans, E-F, H - Mexcala macilenta.
SOURCES: A - Proszynski 1984a. Atlas rysunków diagnostycznych mniej znanych Salticidae (Araneae). Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Rolniczo-Pedagogiczne,  Siedlce: 83, B-D, G - Wesolowska, Haddad 2009. Afr. Invert. 50(1): 101-104.158-161, f 2, E-F, H - Wesolowska W., A. Russel-Smith. 2000. Trop. Zool., 13 (1): 68-70, f 181-184, H - Wesołowska, Tomasiewicz, 2008. J. Af. Zool. 4: 26, photo 210. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Gen. Paraheliophanus Clark, Benoit, 1977
Type species Paraheliophanus subinstructus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873) (4 recognizable species)
See more species Paraheliophanus-Q+M

A-B - Paraheliophanus jeanae.
SOURCES: A-B - Clark, Benoit 1977. Annales, Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Sciences zoologiques (Zool.-Ser. 8°), 220: 92, f 37a-d. + 93, f 38. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy. /p>

Gen. Tasa Wesolowska, 1981
Type species Thianella davidi Schenkel, 1963 (2 recognizable species)
See more species Tasa-Q+M


A - Tasa davidi male, B-C - female of allegedly the same[?] species [conspeficity not documented, matching doubtful], D - Tasa nipponica
COMMENT: Male (A) described from Hunan province, which has humid, subtropical climate, female (B-C) from distant Ordos area in Inner Mongolia, China, which has north temperate semiarid climate, conspecific state of these specimens highly improbable, no premises to consider them even congeneric.
SOURCES:. A - Wesolowska 1981b. Ann. zool. 36: 157-159, f 88-92, B-C- Peng, Gong, Kim 2000. Korean J. Soil Zool. 5 (1): 14, f 5-8, D - Bohdanowicz in Bohdanowicz, Prószynski, 1987. Annales zoologici, 41, 2: 143-144, f 300-30. All ©copyrights are retained by the original authors and copyright holders, used by their courtesy.

Contents of Heliophaninae by Petrunkevitch, 1928 (no such taxon in Simon 1901a).