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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Long-jawed Orb Weavers (Tetragnathidae) » Thickjawed Orb Weavers (Pachygnatha)

Genus Pachygnatha - Thickjawed Orb Weavers

Classification · Pronunciation · Numbers · Identification · Range · Habitat · Internet References

Thickjawed Orb Weaver - Pachygnatha brevis - female

Thickjawed Orb Weaver - Pachygnatha autumnalis - male

Spider ID Please - Pachygnatha tristriata

Pachygnatha autumnalis? - Pachygnatha autumnalis - male

Male Pachygnatha autumnalis? - Pachygnatha - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Order Araneae (Spiders)

Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)

No Taxon (Entelegynae)

Family Tetragnathidae (Long-jawed Orb Weavers)

Genus Pachygnatha (Thickjawed Orb Weavers)

Pronunciation

paak-ig-NA-thuh

Numbers

8 species in Bug Guide's range (North America north of Mexico).

Identification

(BugGuide doesn't have examples of P. dorothea yet, but Rod Crawford's image of one can be found here (bottom of page): http://crawford.tardigrade.net/journal/album8015.html. He notes that it is uncommon; that might only apply to WA state, though.)

P. autumnalis ♀♂:

P. brevis ♀♂:

P. clercki ♀:

P. tristriata ♀♂:

P. xanthostoma ♀:

Range

P. autumnalis: eastern half of USA and parts of Cuba.

P. brevis: mostly in the northeast USA.

P. calusa: mostly in Florida.

P. clercki: throughout Canada and Alaska, as well as northern USA.

P. dorothea: widespread, mostly in northern 2/3rds of USA.

P. furcillata: eastern half of USA and parts of Cuba.

P. tristriata: eastern half of USA and parts of Cuba.

P. xanthostoma: widespread, mostly in northern 2/3rds of USA.

Habitat

Most are found in moist habitats on the ground, since adults have lost the ability to make webs, but...

...the immature spiders can still make webs, which are constructed horizontally between plants at a height of 2 to 8 cm.

Internet References

Levi, H. W. 1980. The orb-weaver genus Mecynogea, the subfamily Metinae and the genera Pachygnatha, Glenognatha and Azilia of the subfamily Tetragnathinae north of Mexico (Araneae: Araneidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 149(1):1-75

Contributed by tom murray on 30 October, 2005 - 6:42pm
Additional contributions by Lynette Elliott, kschnei, Mandy Howe
Last updated 2 December, 2012 - 1:21pm

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