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, 990 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. 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.

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 January 2026^[update], this family includes 45 genera and 990 species:

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:

†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. hdl:1959.13/1480504.
↑ "Family Tetragnathidae Menge, 1866". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
↑ 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)

[menge1866-1] Menge, Anton (1866). "Preussische Spinnen. Erste Abtheilung". Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig (N.F.). 1.

[gould2023-2] 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. hdl:1959.13/1480504.

[wsc-3] "Family Tetragnathidae Menge, 1866". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2026-01-22.

[dunlop2018-4] 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.

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, 990 species

blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist)