''Metellina'' is a genus of tetragnathid spiders that occurs mostly in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, with two species found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. ''M. segmentata'' was introduced to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Metidae. ''M. segmentata'' is probably the most abundant orb-weaving spider of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

.Bellmann, H. (1997). Kosmos-Atlas Spinnentiere Europas. ''Kosmos''.

Name

The genus name is an alteration of the related genus ''

Meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or ende ...

''.

Species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted the following extant species: *'' Metellina barreti'' (Kulczyński, 1899) – Madeira *'' Metellina curtisi'' (McCook, 1894) (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

) – North America *'' Metellina gertschi'' (Lessert, 1938) – Democratic Republic of the Congo *''

Metellina haddadi ''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. Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Meti ...

'' Marusik & Larsen, 2018 – South Africa *'' Metellina kirgisica'' (Bakhvalov, 1974) – Azerbaijan, Central Asia, China *'' Metellina longipalpis'' (Pavesi, 1883) – Ethiopia *''

Metellina mengei ''Metellina mengei'' is a spider of the family Tetragnathidae that is found in Europe up to Georgia. It was once considered a form of ''M. segmentata'' that occurs in spring. ''M. mengei'' is much rarer than ''M. segmentata''.Bellmann, H. (1997). ...

'' (Blackwall, 1869) – Europe to Caucasus, Iran, Russia (Europe to Altai) *''

Metellina merianae ''Metellina merianae'' is a spider species found in Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also ...

'' (Scopoli, 1763) – Europe, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Russia (Europe to Central Asia) *'' Metellina merianopsis'' (Tullgren, 1910) – Tanzania *''

Metellina mimetoides ''Metellina mimetoides'' is a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the spider family Tetragnathidae Long-jawed orb weavers or long jawed spiders (Tetragnathidae) are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866. They h ...

'' Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941 – North America *''

Metellina minima ''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. Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Meti ...

'' (Denis, 1953) – Canary Islands *''

Metellina orientalis ''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. Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Meti ...

'' (Spassky, 1932) – Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan *''

Metellina ornata ''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. Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Meti ...

'' (Chikuni, 1955) – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan *'' Metellina segmentata'' (Clerck, 1757) – Europe, Turkey, Israel, Caucasus, Russia (Europe) to Central Asia, China, Japan; introduced to Canada *''

Metellina villiersi ''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. Some researchers consider this genus to belong to a distinct family, the Meti ...

'' (Denis, 1955) – Guinea

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1556083 Tetragnathidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of Asia Spiders of North America Taxa named by Ralph Vary Chamberlin Taxa named by Wilton Ivie