Cybaeidae  Banks, 1892 / Mastigusa  Menge, 1854   4 species

Mastigusa arietina (Thorell, 1871)

Description
Male

Conductor with slender terminal part, very long and uniformly bent.
Prosoma light yellow-brown. Sternum yellow-brown. Legs yellow-brown. Opisthosoma light yellowish, sometimes with brownish or blackish vague pattern.

Body length male: 3.0-3.5 mm
Female

Epigyne posteriorly with bright median area, entrance ducts very thin and densely convoluted. 

Body length female: 3.0-3.5 mm
Additional information

Under bark or in formicaries

Troglophile species (Mammola et al., 2022)

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Europe, Turkey, Russia (Europe, Caucasus, Middle and South Siberia), Georgia, Iran
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Algeria  Removed (Benhacene et al., 2023; Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Austria   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Belgium   (Bosmans & Van Keer, 2017) ||| Bulgaria   (Indzhov et al., 2025) ||| Croatia  Removed (Milosevic, 2002; Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Czechia   (Růžička & Řezáč, 2022a) ||| Denmark   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Estonia   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Finland   (Koponen et al., 2016) ||| France   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Georgia   (Seropian et al., 2023b) ||| Germany   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Hungary   (Samu & Szinetár, 1999) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Kosovo   (Geci et al., 2026b) ||| Liechtenstein   (Arnold, 2001) ||| Netherlands   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Norway   (Aakra & Hauge, 2003) ||| Poland   (Rozwałka & Stanska, 2008) ||| Portugal  Removed (Branco et al., 2019; Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Romania   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Russia, Eastern   (Esyunin & Efimik, 1996a) ||| Russia, Southern   (Ponomarev et al., 2021b; Ponomarev, 2022) ||| Russia, Western   (no references) ||| Slovakia   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Slovenia   (Kostanjšek & Kuntner, 2015; Castellucci et al., 2024; Bračko & Kostanjšek, 2024) ||| Spain  Removed (Branco et al., 2019; Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Sweden   (Kronestedt, 2001) ||| Switzerland   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Castellucci et al., 2024) ||| Ukraine   (Polchaninova & Prokopenko, 2019) ||| United Kingdom   (Lavery, 2019) |||
References

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Benhacene R, Adjami A, Hadjeb A, Kermiche K, Ouakid M L (2023) Bibliographic checklist of the Algerian spider fauna (Araneae). Zootaxa 5352: 301-357 pdf

Bosmans R, Van Keer K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69 pdf

Bračko G, Kostanjšek R (2024) First records of the myrmecophilous spider Thyreosthenius biovatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1875) for Slovenia and new Slovenian records for the myrmecophilous spider Mastigusa arietina (Thorell, 1871). Natura Sloveniae 26: 17-28 pdf

Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254 pdf

Castellucci F, Luchetti A, Scharff N (2024) Enigmatic and extravagant genitalia in the spider genus Mastigusa (Araneae, Cybaeidae) – a taxonomical revision. Invertebrate Systematics 38(IS23047): 1-27 pdf

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Indzhov S, Haynadzhieva V, Střeštík V, Dimitrov Dr, Dimitrov Di (2025) We have two of them: a review of the genus Mastigusa (Araneae: Cybaeidae) in Bulgaria. Zootaxa 5711: 579-588 pdf

Isaia M, Tolve M, Pantini P (2025) Araneae.it: 2.0: the new updated version of the digital catalog of the Italian spiders and other arachnids (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, Palpigradi, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 57: 197-204 pdf

Koponen S, Fritzén N R, Pajunen T (2016) Checklist of spiders in Finland (Araneae). 6th version, December 2016, online at http://biolcoll.utu.fi/arach/checklist_of_spiders_in_Finland.htm pdf

Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91 pdf

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Løvbrekke H (unpubl.)

Mammola S, Pavlek M, Huber B A, Isaia M, Ballarin F, Tolve M, Čupić I, Hesselberg T, Lunghi E, Mouron S, Graco-Roza C, Cardoso P (2022) A trait database and updated checklist for European subterranean spiders. Scientific Data 9(236): 1-13 pdf

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Milosevic B (2002) Aranea – Popis vrsta – Checklist. Hrvatsko entomološko društvo – Inventar entomofaune Hrvatske [Aranea – List of species – Checklist. Croatian Entomological Society – Inventory of Croatian entomofauna]. pdf

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Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App pdf

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