Cyrtophorinae is a
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
of
spider
Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
s in the
orb-weaver spider
Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
.
Unlike other orb-weavers, spiders belonging to Cyrtophorinae build horizontal, finely meshed platforms within a tangle of irregular webs. The usually dome-shaped platform is a non-sticky orb web.
Cyrtophorinae includes the following six
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
:
*''
Cyrtobill''
Framenau & Scharff, 2009
*''
Cyrtophora''
Simon, 1864 (Tent-web spiders)
*''
Kapogea''
Levi, 1997
*''
Mecynogea''
Simon, 1903
*''
Megaraneus''
Lawrence, 1968
*''
Manogea''
Levi, 1997
File:Basilica Orbweaver courtship - Mecynogea lemniscata, Leesylvania State Park, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg, '' Mecynogea lemniscata'': courtship
File:Basilica Orbweaver - Mecynogea lemniscata, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg, egg sac + prey
File:Basilica Orbweaver - Mecynogea lemniscata egg sac, Julie Metz Wetlands, Virginia.jpg, egg sac
See also
*
List of Araneidae genera
References
Araneidae
Spider subfamilies
{{Araneidae-stub