Stretch spiders or long jawed orb weavers

Family Tetragnathidae Home <------

About 50 species belongs to this family in Europe and eleven of them are described living in NW-Europe. Two genera can be found.
They probably arose from the same evolutionary line as the Araneids because they also build orb webs.
Members of the family of the Tetragnathidae are often found in damp, swampy habitats.
Tetragnatha spiders have long slim bodies and their abdomen has a metal shiny look.
Tetragnatha build orb webs with an open center like the Metidae. Metidae are recently placed in this family but I described them on an page of their own.

Genus Pachygnatha

Ten species are living in Europe. During daytime, they can be found at ground level. At night they move upwards in the vegetation.
This genus does not make webs.


Pachygnatha clercki female (photo Hans Jonkman)	Pachygnatha clercki male

Pachygnatha clercki female	Pachygnatha degeeri

Pachygnatha degeeri	Pachygnatha degeeri

Genus Tetragnatha


Eight Tetragnatha species occurs in NW-Europe. Tetragnatha build orb webs with an open center like the Metidae. When the spiders is not in the web she rests stretched on a reed twig or grass leave. If the spider is disturbed she usually drops to the ground. Most are greatly elongated spiders with very thin, long legs; the chelicerae (jaws) are of great size, especially those of the males, which often project in forward in a horizontal position. The jaws together with the two long palps it appears as they have four jaws. Their size varies between 5 and 15 mm. Tetragnathidae do not use many radii in their web. Cocon of a Tetragnathid (photo Hans Jonkman)
	During mating the chelicerae of the male are gripped in those of the female (blue arrow and he inserts his palp in her genitials (red arrow) and pumps his sperm in her. The palps of the male can be seen in detail on the left picture.

Tetragnatha extensa closeup	Tetragnatha montana mating.


Tetragnatha obtusa	Tetragnatha obtusa

Tetragnatha extensa


Tetragnatha extensa female	Tetragnatha extensa female	Tetragnatha extensa female
Tetragnatha montana male

Tetragnatha montana female	Tetragnatha montana male	Tetragnatha montana female

Tetragnatha montana female	Tetragnatha montana female	Tetragnatha montana female weaving her web

Tetragnatha obtusa	Tetragnatha sp.

Ed Nieuwenhuys, 7 september 2017
December 26, 2008 ,July 5, 2000, 31 August, 1998

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