The genus Cybaeus (Araneae, Cybaeidae) in the Alps

The genus Cybaeus includes about a hundred species, mostly Holarctic, with representatives from Europe, China, Korea and, especially, Japan and western North America. In Europe, eleven species are known so far, five of which are recorded for the Alpine chain. The collection of spiders from the Maritime Alps in the framework of the first European All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory provided records of rare endemic species that are generally poorly known. On the base of the collection of several unknown males of Cybaeus, we discuss the validity of the previous identifications and provide the new description of the male of C. vignai. Furthermore, based on the examination of material stored in Museum collections (including type material) and freshly collected material, we briefly revise the western Alpine species of Cybaeus. Records of C. vignai are so far restricted to a few localities in the Italian and French Maritime Alps. According to our interpretation, previous records of males have to be referred to C. intermedius. However, it is likely that the species is more widespread in the South‐Western Alps.