Meta (spider) explained

Meta is a genus of long-jawed orb-weavers that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1835.^[1] They are often associated with caves, caverns, and recesses, earning some of them the name "cave orbweavers"

Species

it contains twenty-six species, found worldwide:^[2]

• Meta abdomenalis Patel & Reddy, 1993 – India
• Meta birmanica Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
• Meta bourneti Simon, 1922 – Europe, Georgia, North Africa
• Meta dolloff Levi, 1980 – USA
• Meta hamata Wang, Zhou, Irfan, Yang & Peng, 2020 — China
• Meta japonica Tanikawa, 1993 – Japan
• Meta longlingensis Wang, Zhou, Irfan, Yang & Peng, 2020 — China
• Meta manchurica Marusik & Koponen, 1992 – Russia (Far East), Korea
• Meta menardi (Latreille, 1804) (type) – Europe, Turkey, Iran
• Meta meruensis Tullgren, 1910 – Tanzania
• Meta mixta O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885 – China (Yarkand)
• Meta monogrammata Butler, 1876 – Australia (Queensland)
• Meta montana Hogg, 1919 – Indonesia (Sumatra)
• Meta nebulosa Schenkel, 1936 – China
• Meta nigridorsalis Tanikawa, 1994 – China, Japan
• Meta obscura Kulczyński, 1899 – Canary Is., Madeira
• Meta ovalis (Gertsch, 1933) – USA, Canada
• Meta qianshanensis Zhu & Zhu, 1983 – China
• Meta serrana Franganillo, 1930 – Cuba
• Meta shenae Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – China
• Meta simlaensis Tikader, 1982 – India
• Meta stridulans Wunderlich, 1987 – Madeira
• Meta tangi >Wang, Zhou, Irfan, Yang & Peng, 2020 — China
• Meta turbatrix Keyserling, 1887 – Australia (New South Wales)
• Meta yani >Wang, Zhou, Irfan, Yang & Peng, 2020 — China
• Meta tangi >Wang, Zhou, Irfan, Yang & Peng, 2020 — China

Synonyms

Synonyms include:^[2]

• Meta americana Marusik & Koponen, 1992 = Meta ovalis (Gertsch, 1933)
• Meta milleri Kratochvíl, 1942 = Meta bourneti Simon, 1922

Dubious names

Nomina dubia (dubious names) include:^[2]

• Meta nigra Franganillo, 1920

See also

• List of Tetragnathidae species

Notes and References

1. Book: Koch, C. L. . Favnae insectorvm Germanicae initia, oder, Deutschlands Insecten . . 1835 . Herrich-Schäffer . G. A. W. . Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer . 127–134 . Arachniden . 10.5962/bhl.title.15007 . ca11002214 . 4195853 . Ludwig_Carl_Christian_Koch.
2. Web site: 2022 . Gen. Meta C. L. Koch, 1835 . World Spider Catalog Version 23.0 . Natural History Museum Bern . 10.24436/2 . 11 April 2022.