Long-jawed orb weaver

Long-jawed orb-weavers; Temporal range: Cretaceous–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Metellina mengei
	Tetragnatha montana, female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Tetragnathidae; Menge, 1866
Diversity
	50 genera, 989 species

Long-jawed orb weavers or long jawed spiders (Tetragnathidae) are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866.^[1] They have elongated bodies, legs, and chelicerae, and build small orb webs with an open hub with few, wide-set radii and spirals with no signal line or retreat. Some species are often found in long vegetation near water.^[2]

Systematics

Mating behaviour of Tetragnatha montana

Pair of silver long-jawed orb weaver spiders interacting, laying silk and losing the cranefly they were consuming to ants.

As of March 2021^[update], the World Spider Catalog accepts the following extant genera:^[3]

Allende Álvarez-Padilla, 2007 — Chile, Argentina
Antillognatha Bryant, 1945 — Hispaniola
Atelidea Simon, 1895 — Sri Lanka
Azilia Keyserling, 1881 — United States, Panama, South America, Caribbean
Chrysometa Simon, 1894 — South America, Central America, Mexico, Caribbean
Cyrtognatha Keyserling, 1881 — South America, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico
Dianleucauge Song & Zhu, 1994 — China
Diphya Nicolet, 1849 — Asia, South America, Africa
Dolichognatha O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 — Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, United States, Panama
Doryonychus Simon, 1900 — Hawaii
Dyschiriognatha Simon, 1893 — Indonesia, Brazil, Samoa
Glenognatha Simon, 1887 — Africa, South America, Asia, North America, Central America, Caribbean
Harlanethis Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 — Australia (Queensland)
Hispanognatha Bryant, 1945 — Hispaniola
Homalometa Simon, 1898 — Central America, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil
Iamarra Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 — Australia (Queensland)
Leucauge White, 1841 (including Opas) — Africa, North America, Asia, Oceania, South America, Central America, Caribbean
Leucognatha Wunderlich, 1992 — Azores, Kenya, Tanzania
Mesida Kulczyński, 1911 — Oceania, Asia, Africa
Meta C. L. Koch, 1836 — Asia, North America, Tanzania, Oceania, Cuba
Metabus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 — Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Dominican Republic
Metellina Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941 — Africa, Asia, Canada
Metleucauge Levi, 1980 — Asia, United States
Mitoscelis Thorell, 1890 — Indonesia
Mollemeta Álvarez-Padilla, 2007 — Chile
Nanningia Zhu, Kim & Song, 1997
Nanometa Simon, 1908 — Australia
Neoprolochus Reimoser, 1927 — Indonesia
Okileucauge Tanikawa, 2001 — China, Japan
Orsinome Thorell, 1890 — Asia, Oceania, Madagascar
Pachygnatha Sundevall, 1823 — Africa, Asia, North America, Cuba, Europe
Parameta Simon, 1895 — Ethiopia, Somalia, Sierra Leone
Parazilia Lessert, 1938 — Congo
Pholcipes Schmidt & Krause, 1993 — Comoros
Pickardinella Archer, 1951 — Mexico
Pinkfloydia Dimitrov & Hormiga, 2011 — Australia
Sancus Tullgren, 1910 — Kenya, Tanzania
Schenkeliella Strand, 1934 — Sri Lanka
Taraire Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 — New Zealand
Tawhai Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 — New Zealand
Tetragnatha Latreille, 1804 — Asia, South America, Oceania, Africa, North America, Caribbean, Central America, Europe
Timonoe Thorell, 1898 — Myanmar
Tylorida Simon, 1894 — Asia, Africa, Oceania
Wolongia Zhu, Kim & Song, 1997 — China
Zhinu Kallal & Hormiga, 2018 — Taiwan, Korea, Japan
Zygiometella Wunderlich, 1995 — Israel

Fossil genera

Several extinct, fossil genera have been described:^[4]

†Anameta Wunderlich, 2004 (Palaeogene, Bitterfield and Baltic amber)
†Balticgnatha Wunderlich, 2004 (Palaeogene, Baltic amber)
†Corneometa Wunderlich, 2004 (Palaeogene, Baltic amber)
†Eometa Petrunkevitch, 1958 (Palaeogene, Baltic amber)
†Huergnina Selden & Penney, 2003 (Cretaceous, Las Hoyas, Spain)
†Macryphantes Selden, 1990 (Cretaceous)
†Palaeometa Petrunkevitch, 1922 (Palaeogene, Florissant)
†Palaeopachygnatha Petrunkevitch, 1922 (Palaeogene, Florissant)
†Priscometa Petrunkevitch, 1958 (Palaeogene, Baltic amber)
†Samlandicmeta Wunderlich, 2012 (Palaeogene, Baltic amber)

Formerly placed here

Deliochus Simon, 1894 – now in Araneidae
Eryciniolia Strand, 1912 – now a synonym of Nanometa
Menosira Chikuni, 1955 – now a synonym of Metellina
Nediphya Marusik & Omelko, 2017 – now a synonym of Nanometa
Phonognatha Simon, 1894 – now in Araneidae
Prolochus Thorell, 1895 – see Dolichognatha

References

^ Menge, Anton (1866). "Preussische Spinnen. Erste Abtheilung". Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig (N.F.). 1.
^ Gould, John; García, Luis Fernando; Valdez, Jose. W. (March 2023). "Water webbing: Long‐jawed spider (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) produces webs that touch the surface of ephemeral waterbodies". Ethology. 129 (3): 182–185. doi:10.1111/eth.13355.
^ "Family: Tetragnathidae Menge, 1866". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
^ Dunlop, J. A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. 2018. A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives. In World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch, version 19.0, accessed on 7 October 2018.