Tetragnatha
| Tetragnatha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female T. extensa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Suborder: | Araneomorphae |
| Superfamily: | Araneoidea |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Subfamily: | Tetragnathinae |
| Genus: | Tetragnatha Latreille, 1804 |
| Diversity | |
| 326 species | |
Tetragnatha is a genus of spiders containing hundreds of species. They are found all over the world, although most occur in the tropics and subtropics. They are commonly called stretch spiders, referring to their elongated body form. When disturbed they will stretch their front legs forward and the others in the other direction, thus being able to hide on blades of grass or similar elongated substrates. They are able to run over water.
The name Tetragnatha is derived from Greek, tetra- a numerical prefix referring to four and gnatha meaning "jaw".
One of the biggest and most common species is T. extensa, which has a holarctic distribution. It can be found near lakes, river banks or swamps.[1] Large numbers of individuals can often be found in reeds, tall grass or minor trees and shrubs.
A shift to cursorial behavior in the Hawaiian Tetragnatha species seems to have occurred very early on arrival of the ancestor on the island chain.[2]
Species
- Tetragnatha acuta Gillespie, 1992
- Tetragnatha aenea Cantor, 1842
- Tetragnatha aetherea (Simon, 1894)
- Tetragnatha albida Gillespie, 1994
- Tetragnatha americana Simon, 1905
- Tetragnatha amoena Okuma, 1987
- Tetragnatha anamitica Walckenaer, 1842
- Tetragnatha andamanensis Tikader, 1977
- Tetragnatha andonea Lawrence, 1927
- Tetragnatha angolaensis Okuma & Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1988
- Tetragnatha anguilla Thorell, 1877
- Tetragnatha angulata Hogg, 1914
- Tetragnatha anuenue Gillespie, 2002
- Tetragnatha argentinensis Mello-Leitão, 1931
- Tetragnatha argyroides Mello-Leitão, 1945
- Tetragnatha armata Karsch, 1891
- Tetragnatha atriceps Banks, 1898
- Tetragnatha atristernis Strand, 1913
- Tetragnatha australis (Mello-Leitão, 1945)
- Tetragnatha baculiferens Hingston, 1927
- Tetragnatha beccarii Caporiacco, 1947
- Tetragnatha bemalcuei Mello-Leitão, 1939
- Tetragnatha bengalensis Walckenaer, 1842
- Tetragnatha bicolor White, 1841
- Tetragnatha bidentata Roewer, 1951
- Tetragnatha biseriata Thorell, 1881
- Tetragnatha bishopi Caporiacco, 1947
- Tetragnatha bituberculata L. Koch, 1867
- Tetragnatha boeleni Chrysanthus, 1975
- Tetragnatha bogotensis Keyserling, 1865
- Tetragnatha boninensis Okuma, 1981
- Tetragnatha boydi O. P.-Cambridge, 1898
- Tetragnatha dearmata
- Tetragnatha extensa
- Tetragnatha major
- Tetragnatha montana
- Tetragnatha nigrita
- Tetragnatha nitens
- Tetragnatha obtusa
- Tetragnatha striata
- Tetragnatha torrensis Schmidt & Piepho, 1994
hundreds more
References
- ↑ Hänggi, Ambros; Stöckli, Edi; Nentwig, Wolfgang (1995). Lebensräume Mitteleuropäischer Spinnen. Miscellanea Faunistica Helvetiae – Centre suisse de cartographie de la faune, Neuchatel. ISBN 2-88414-008-5.
- ↑ Gillespie, R.G.; Croom, H.B.; Palumbi, S.R. (1994). "Multiple origins of a spider radiation in Hawaii". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 91 (6): 2290–2294. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.6.2290. PMC 43356. PMID 8134390.
