Metellina
Genus of spiders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metellina is a genus of tetragnathid spiders that occurs mostly in Eurasia, with two species found in North America. M. segmentata was introduced to Canada.
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| Metellina | |
|---|---|
| |
| Metellina mengei | |
 | |
| female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Metellina Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941[1] |
| Type species | |
| Pachygnatha curtisi McCook, 1894 | |
| Species | |
| Diversity[1] | |
| 16 species | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Metidae.[citation needed]
M. segmentata is probably the most abundant orb-weaving spider of Germany.[2]
Metellina Spiders are also called the Autumn Spider[3].
Description
Metellina species have an abdomen longer than wide, usually without tubercles. The secondary eyes have a canoe-shaped tapetum. The posterior lateral eyes are located on a single tubercle.[4]
The epigynal plate is flat with posterior-facing copulatory openings. The fertilization ducts originate near the anterior area of the spermathecae with a mass of accessory glands near the copulatory ducts. The palpal patella has one macroseta.[4]
Life style
Metellina species are web dwellers that make their webs low in vegetation.[4]
Name
The genus name is an alteration of the related genus Meta.
Species
Metellina sp. from Belgium
Metellina sp. from Norway
M. merianae
As of October 2025[update], this genus includes sixteen species:[1]
- Metellina barreti (Kulczyński, 1899) – Madeira
- Metellina curtisi (McCook, 1894) – North America (type species)
- Metellina gertschi (Lessert, 1938) – DR Congo
- Metellina haddadi Marusik & Larsen, 2018 – South Africa
- Metellina kirgisica (Bakhvalov, 1974) – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, China
- Metellina longipalpis (Pavesi, 1883) – Ethiopia
- Metellina mengei (Blackwall, 1869) – Europe to Caucasus, Iran, Russia (Europe to Altai)
- Metellina merianae (Scopoli, 1763) – Europe, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Russia (Europe to Central Asia)
- Metellina merianopsis (Tullgren, 1910) – Tanzania
- Metellina mimetoides Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941 – North America
- Metellina minima (Denis, 1953) – Canary Islands
- Metellina orientalis (Spassky, 1932) – Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan
- Metellina ornata (Chikuni, 1955) – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan
- Metellina segmentata (Clerck, 1757) – Europe, Morocco, Turkey, Israel, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), Kazakhstan, Iran, China, Japan. Introduced to Canada
- Metellina tangchao Lin & Yang, 2023 – China
- Metellina villiersi (Denis, 1955) – Guinea
