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
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Tetragnathidae Menge, 1866
Diversity
45 genera, c. 1,000 species
blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist)

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

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 October 2025^[update], this family includes 45 genera:^[3]

• Allende Álvarez-Padilla, 2007 – Argentina, Chile
• Antillognatha Bryant, 1945 – Hispaniola
• Atelidea Simon, 1895 – India, Sri Lanka
• Azilia Keyserling, 1881 – Central America to Peru
• Chrysometa Simon, 1894 – North America, South America
• Cyrtognatha Keyserling, 1881 – North America, South America
• Dianleucauge Song & Zhu, 1994 – China
• Diphya Nicolet, 1849 – Madagascar, South Africa, Eastern Asia, Russia, South America
• Dolichognatha O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 – Africa, Asia, Cuba, North to South America, Ocenia
• Doryonychus Simon, 1900 – Hawaii
• Dyschiriognatha Simon, 1893 – Brazil, Malaysia, Oceania
• Glenognatha Simon, 1887 – Africa, Asia, North America, South America, French Polynesia, Marquesas Islands. Introduced to Seychelles, St. Helena, Brazil, Ecuador, Galapagos
• Harlanethis Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 – Australia
• Hispanognatha Bryant, 1945 – Hispaniola
• Homalometa Simon, 1898 – Cuba, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, Lesser Antilles
• Iamarra Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 – Australia
• Leucauge White, 1841 – Africa, Asia, Oceania, Americas
• Leucognatha Wunderlich, 1992 – Kenya, Tanzania, Azores
• Mesida Kulczyński, 1911 – Asia, Oceania
• Meta C. L. Koch, 1835 – North Africa, Tanzania, South Africa, Asia, Australia, Madeira, Russia, Cuba, North America
• Metabus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 – Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico
• Metellina Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941 –Africa, Europe, Asia. Introduced to Canada
• Metleucauge Levi, 1980 – Asia, Russia, United States
• Mitoscelis Thorell, 1890 – Indonesia
• Mollemeta Álvarez-Padilla, 2007 – Chile
• Nanningia Zhu, Kim & Song, 1997 – China
• Nanometa Simon, 1908 – Australia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand
• Neoprolochus Reimoser, 1927 – Indonesia
• Okileucauge Tanikawa, 2001 – China, Japan
• Orsinome Thorell, 1890 – Asia, New Guinea
• Pachygnatha Sundevall, 1823 – Africa, Asia, Europe, Cuba, North America
• Parameta Simon, 1895 – Sierra Leone
• Parazilia Lessert, 1938 – DR Congo
• Pholcipes Schmidt & Krause, 1993 – Comoros
• Pickardinella Archer, 1951 – Mexico
• Pinkfloydia Hormiga & Dimitrov, 2011 – Australia
• Schenkeliella Strand, 1934 – Sri Lanka
• Taraire Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 – New Zealand
• Tawhai Álvarez-Padilla, Kallal & Hormiga, 2020 – New Zealand
• Tetragnatha Latreille, 1804 – Worldwide
• Timonoe Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
• Tylorida Simon, 1894 – West Africa, Asia to Australia
• Wolongia Zhu, Kim & Song, 1997 – China, India
• Zhinu Kallal & Hormiga, 2018 – Japan, Korea, Taiwan
• Zygiometella Wunderlich, 1995 – Israel, Cyprus

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

See also

A few spiders in this family include:

• List of Tetragnathidae species
• Leucauge mariana
• Leucauge argyra
• Leucauge venusta

References

1. Menge, Anton (1866). "Preussische Spinnen. Erste Abtheilung". Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig (N.F.). 1.
2. 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.
3. "Family: Tetragnathidae Menge, 1866". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
4. 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

External links

• Citizen science observations for Long-jawed orb weaver at iNaturalist

• Tree of Life Tetragnathidae
• Tatragnatha sp. Large format diagnostic photographs and information
• Reference Photos: Tetragnatha laboriosa
• Venusta Orchard Spider - Family Tetragnathidae
• Pictures of Tetragnatha sp. (free for noncommercial use)