Heterochelus controversus is a species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in South Africa (Northern Cape).
Adults reach a length of about . They are bronze, covered on the pronotum with a thick somewhat lanuginose golden yellow pubescence, and with thick contiguous scales of the same colour on the elytra, pygidial part, and abdomen. The legs are red, with a metallic tinge. The pubescence of the pronotum is very thick and moderately long.