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

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, with two species found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. ''M. segmentata'' was introduced to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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

Name

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

Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...

''.

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 International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

) – North America *'' Metellina gertschi'' (Lessert, 1938) – Democratic Republic of the Congo *'' Metellina haddadi'' 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 (country), Georgia. It was once considered a form of ''M. segmentata'' that occurs in spring. ''M. mengei'' is much rarer than ''M. segmentata''.B ...

'' (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 ''Metellina segmentata'' is a spider in the family Tetragnathidae with a Palaearctic distribution. This spider's name is often shortened to ''Meta segmentata'', and some even call it ''Araneus segmentatus'' simply meaning, orb weaving spiders. It ...

'' (Clerck, 1757) – Europe, Turkey, Israel, Caucasus, Russia (Europe) to Central Asia, China, Japan; introduced to Canada *'' Metellina villiersi'' (Denis, 1955) – Guinea

References

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