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]
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Opadometa fastigata in Kerala
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)
A few spiders in this family include:
Menge, Anton (1866). "Preussische Spinnen. Erste Abtheilung". Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig (N.F.) . 1 .
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.
Chickering, A.M. (1963). The Male of Mecynometa globosa (O. P.-Cambridge) (Araneae, Argiopidae). Psyche 70:180–183. PDF