Orb Weaver

in southern Spain]] The oldest known true orb-weaver is Mesozygiella dunlopi, from the Lower Cretaceous. Several fossils provide direct evidence that the three major orb-weaving families, namely the Araneidae, Tetragnathidae, and Uloboridae, had evolved by this time, about 140 Mya. They probably originated during the Jurassic (). Based on new molecular evidence in silk genes, all three families are likely to have a common origin. The two superfamilies, Deinopoidea and Araneoidea, have similar behavioral sequences and spinning apparatuses to produce architecturally similar webs. The latter weave true viscid silk with an aqueous glue property, and the former use dry fibrils and sticky silk. The Deinopoidea (including the Uloboridae), have a cribellum – a flat, complex spinning plate from which the cribellate silk is released. They also have a calamistrum – an apparatus of bristles used to comb the cribellate silk from the cribellum. The Araneoidea, or the "ecribellate" spiders, do not have these two structures. The two groups of orb-weaving spiders are morphologically very distinct, yet much similarity exists between their web forms and web construction behaviors. The cribellates retained the ancestral character, yet the cribellum was lost in the escribellates. The lack of a functional cribellum in araneoids is most likely synapomorphic. If the orb-weaver spiders are a monophyletic group, the fact that only some species in the group lost a feature adds to the controversy. The cribellates are split off as a separate taxon that retained the primitive feature, which makes the lineage paraphyletic and not synonymous with any real evolutionary lineage. The morphological and behavioral evidence surrounding orb webs led to the disagreement over a single or a dual origin. While early molecular analysis provided more support for a monophyletic origin, other evidence indicates that orb-weavers evolved earlier phylogenetically than previously thought, and were extinct at least three times during the Cretaceous.

Araneid species either mate at the central hub of the web, where the male slowly traverses the web, trying not to get eaten, and when reaching the hub, mounts the female; or the male constructs a mating thread inside or outside the web to attract the female via vibratory courtship, and if successful, mating occurs on the thread. In the cannibalistic and polyandrous orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi, the much smaller males are attacked during their first copulation and are cannibalized in up to 80% of the cases. All surviving males die after their second copulation, a pattern observed in other Argiope species. Whether a male survives his first copulation depends on the duration of the genital contact; males that jump off early (before 5 seconds) have a chance of surviving, while males that copulate longer (greater than 10 seconds) invariably die. Prolonged copulation, although associated with cannibalism, enhances sperm transfer and relative paternity. When males mated with a nonsibling female, the duration of their copulation was prolonged, and consequently the males were cannibalized more frequently. When males mated with a sibling female, they copulated briefly, thus were more likely to escape cannibalism. By escaping, their chance of mating again with an unrelated female likely would be increased. These observations suggest that males can adaptively adjust their investment based on the degree of genetic relatedness of the female to avoid inbreeding depression.

Sexual dimorphism refers to physical differences between males and females of the same species. One such difference can be in size. Araneids often exhibit size dimorphism typically known as extreme sexual size dimorphism, due to the extent of differences in size. The size difference among species of Araneidae ranges greatly. Some females, such as those of the Nephila pilipes, can be at least 9 times larger than the male, while others are only slightly larger than the male. The larger size female is typically thought to be selected through fecundity selection, the idea that bigger females can produce more eggs, thus more offspring. Although a great deal of evidence points towards the greatest selection pressure on larger female size, some evidence indicates that selection can favor small male size, as well. Araneids also exhibit a phenomenon called sexual cannibalism, which is commonly found throughout the Araneidae. Evidence suggests a negative correlation between sexual size dimorphism and instances of sexual cannibalism. Other evidence, however, has shown that differences in cannibalistic events among araneids when having smaller or slightly larger males is advantageous. Some evidence has shown that extreme dimorphism may be the result of males avoiding detection by the females. For males of these species, being smaller in size may be advantageous in moving to the central hub of a web so female spiders may be less likely to detect the male, or even if detected as prey to be eaten, the small size may indicate little nutritional value. Larger-bodied male araneids may be advantageous when mating on a mating thread because the thread is constructed from the edge of the web orb to structural threads or to nearby vegetation. Here larger males may be less likely to be cannibalized, as the males are able to copulate while the female is hanging, which may make them safer from cannibalism. In one subfamily of Araneid that uses a mating thread, Gasteracanthinae, sexual cannibalism is apparently absent despite extreme size dimorphism.

Araneus apricus 29825863.jpg|Araneus apricus Marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus) - Female.jpg|Araneus marmoreus Argiope amoena on the grass.jpg|Argiope amoena Bark spider Wynaad 10.jpg|Poltys Arrow-shaped Micrathena - Micrathena sagittata, Julie Metz Wetlands, Woodbridge, Virginia - 8004905359.jpg|Micrathena sagittata Zygiella x-notata.jpg|Zygiella x-notata at the center of the web]] on Eriophora sp. (possibly E. heroine or E. pustuosa)]] ]] , this family includes 197 genera and 4,710 species: * Abba Castanheira & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales) * Acacesia Simon, 1895 — South America, North America * Acantharachne Tullgren, 1910 — Congo, Madagascar, Cameroon * Acanthepeira Marx, 1883 — North America, Brazil, Cuba * Acroaspis Karsch, 1878 — New Zealand, Australia * Acrosomoides Simon, 1887 — Madagascar, Cameroon, Congo * Actinacantha Simon, 1864 — Indonesia * Actinosoma Holmberg, 1883 — Colombia, Argentina * Aculepeira Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 — North America, Central America, South America, Asia, Europe * Acusilas Simon, 1895 — Asia * Aethriscus Pocock, 1902 — Congo * Aethrodiscus Strand, 1913 — Central Africa * Aetrocantha Karsch, 1879 — Central Africa * Afracantha Dahl, 1914 — Africa * Agalenatea Archer, 1951 — Ethiopia, Asia * Alenatea Song & Zhu, 1999 — Asia * Allocyclosa Levi, 1999 — United States, Panama, Cuba * Alpaida O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1889 — Central America, South America, Mexico, Caribbean * Amazonepeira Levi, 1989 — South America * Anepsion Strand, 1929 — Oceania, Asia * Aoaraneus Tanikawa, Yamasaki & Petcharad, 2021 — China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan * Arachnura Clerck, 1863 * Araneus Clerck, 1757 * Araniella Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 — Palearctic * Aranoethra Butler, 1873 — Africa * Argiope Audouin, 1826 — Asia, Oceania, Africa, North America, South America, Costa Rica, Cuba, Portugal * Artiphex Kallal & Hormiga, 2022 – Australia, New Caledonia * Artonis Simon, 1895 — Myanmar, Ethiopia * Aspidolasius Simon, 1887 — South America * Augusta O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 — Madagascar * Austracantha Dahl, 1914 — Australia * Backobourkia Framenau, Dupérré, Blackledge & Vink, 2010 — Australia, New Zealand * Bertrana Keyserling, 1884 — South America, Central America * Bijoaraneus Tanikawa, Yamasaki & Petcharad, 2021 — Africa, Asia, Oceania * Caerostris Thorell, 1868 — Africa, Asia * Carepalxis L. Koch, 1872 — Oceania, South America, Mexico, Jamaica * Celaenia Thorell, 1868 — Australia, New Zealand * Cercidia Thorell, 1869 — Russia, Kazakhstan, India * Chorizopes O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1871 — Asia, Madagascar * Chorizopesoides Mi & Wang, 2018 — China, Vietnam * Cladomelea Simon, 1895 — South Africa, Congo * Clitaetra Simon, 1889 — Africa, Sri Lanka * Cnodalia Thorell, 1890 — Indonesia, Japan * Coelossia Simon, 1895 — Sierra Leone, Mauritius, Madagascar * Colaranea Court & Forster, 1988 — New Zealand * Colphepeira Archer, 1941 — United States, Mexico * Courtaraneus Framenau, Vink, McQuillan & Simpson, 2022 — New Zealand * Cryptaranea Court & Forster, 1988 — New Zealand * Cyclosa Menge, 1866 — Caribbean, Asia, Oceania, South America, North America, Central America, Africa, Europe * Cyphalonotus Simon, 1895 — Asia, Africa * Cyrtarachne Thorell, 1868 — Asia, Africa, Oceania * Cyrtobill Framenau & Scharff, 2009 — Australia * Cyrtophora Simon, 1864 — Asia, Oceania, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, South America, Africa * Deione Thorell, 1898 — Myanmar * Deliochus Simon, 1894 — Australia, Papua New Guinea * Dolophones Walckenaer, 1837 — Australia, Indonesia * Dubiepeira Levi, 1991 — South America * Edricus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1890 — Mexico, Panama, Ecuador * Enacrosoma Mello-Leitão, 1932 — South America, Central America, Mexico * Encyosaccus Simon, 1895 — South America * Epeiroides Keyserling, 1885 — Costa Rica, Brazil * Eriophora Simon, 1864 — North America, South America, Central America, Africa, Asia * Eriovixia Archer, 1951 — Asia, Papua New Guinea, Africa * Eustacesia Caporiacco, 1954 — French Guiana * Eustala Simon, 1895 — South America, North America, Central America, Caribbean * Exechocentrus Simon, 1889 — Madagascar * Faradja Grasshoff, 1970 — Congo * Friula O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897 — Indonesia * Galaporella Levi, 2009 — Ecuador * Gasteracantha Sundevall, 1833 — Oceania, Asia, United States, Africa, Chile * Gastroxya Benoit, 1962 — Africa * Gea C. L. Koch, 1843 — Africa, Oceania, Asia, United States, Argentina * Gibbaranea Archer, 1951 — Asia, Europe, Algeria * Glyptogona Simon, 1884 — Sri Lanka, Italy, Israel * Gnolus Simon, 1879 — Chile, Argentina * Guizygiella Zhu, Kim & Song, 1997 — Asia * Herennia Thorell, 1877 — Asia, Oceania * Heterognatha Nicolet, 1849 — Chile * Hingstepeira Levi, 1995 — South America * Hortophora Framenau & Castanheira, 2021 — Oceania * Hypognatha Guérin, 1839 — South America, Central America, Mexico, Trinidad * Hypsacantha Dahl, 1914 — Africa * Hypsosinga Ausserer, 1871 — Asia, North America, Greenland, Africa * Ideocaira Simon, 1903 — South Africa * Indoetra Kuntner, 2006 — Sri Lanka * Isoxya Simon, 1885 — Africa, Yemen * Kaira O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1889 — North America, South America, Cuba, Guatemala * Kangaraneus Castanheira & Framenau, 2023 — Australia * Kapogea Levi, 1997 — Mexico, South America, Central America * Kilima Grasshoff, 1970 — Congo, Seychelles, Yemen * Larinia Simon, 1874 — Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, Oceania, North America * Larinioides Caporiacco, 1934 — Asia * Lariniophora Framenau, 2011 — Australia * Leviana Framenau & Kuntner, 2022 — Australia * Leviaraneus Tanikawa & Petcharad, 2023 — Asia * Leviellus Wunderlich, 2004 — Asia, France * Lewisepeira Levi, 1993 — Panama, Mexico, Jamaica * Macracantha Simon, 1864 — India, China, Indonesia * Madacantha Emerit, 1970 — Madagascar * Mahembea Grasshoff, 1970 — Central and East Africa * Mangora O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1889 — Asia, North America, South America, Central America, Caribbean * Mangrovia Framenau & Castanheira, 2022 — Australia * Manogea Levi, 1997 — South America, Central America, Mexico * Mastophora Holmberg, 1876 — South America, North America, Central America, Cuba * Mecynogea Simon, 1903 — North America, South America, Cuba * Megaraneus Lawrence, 1968 — Africa * Melychiopharis Simon, 1895 — Brazil * Metazygia F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904 — South America, Central America, North America, Caribbean * Metepeira F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1903 — North America, Caribbean, South America, Central America * Micrathena Sundevall, 1833 — South America, Caribbean, Central America, North America * Micrepeira Schenkel, 1953 — South America, Costa Rica * Micropoltys Kulczyński, 1911 — Papua New Guinea, Australia * Milonia Thorell, 1890 — Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar * Molinaranea Mello-Leitão, 1940 — Chile, Argentina * Nemoscolus Simon, 1895 — Africa * Nemosinga Caporiacco, 1947 — Tanzania * Nemospiza Simon, 1903 — South Africa * Neogea Levi, 1983 — Papua New Guinea, India, Indonesia * Neoscona Simon, 1864 — Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, North America, Cuba, South America * Nephila Leach, 1815 — Asia, Oceania, United States, Africa, South America * Nephilengys L. Koch, 1872 — Asia, Oceania * Nephilingis Kuntner, 2013 — South America, Africa * Nicolepeira Levi, 2001 — Chile * Novakiella Court & Forster, 1993 — Australia, New Zealand * Novaranea Court & Forster, 1988 — Australia, New Zealand * Nuctenea Simon, 1864 — Algeria, Asia, Europe * Oarces Simon, 1879 — Brazil, Chile, Argentina * Ocrepeira Marx, 1883 — South America, Central America, Caribbean, North America * Ordgarius Keyserling, 1886 — Asia, Oceania * Osmooka Kuntner, Yu & Bond, 2025 – Madagascar * Paralarinia Grasshoff, 1970 — Congo, South Africa * Paraplectana Brito Capello, 1867 — Asia, Africa * Paraplectanoides Keyserling, 1886 — Australia * Pararaneus Caporiacco, 1940 — Madagascar * Paraverrucosa Mello-Leitão, 1939 — South America * Parawixia F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904 — Mexico, South America, Asia, Papua New Guinea, Central America, Trinidad * Parazygiella Wunderlich, 2004 – Eurasia, North America * Parmatergus Emerit, 1994 — Madagascar * Pasilobus Simon, 1895 — Africa, Asia * Pengaraneus Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China * Perilla Thorell, 1895 — Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia * Pherenice Thorell, 1899 — Cameroon * Phonognatha Simon, 1894 — Australia * Pitharatus Simon, 1895 — Malaysia, Indonesia * Plebs Joseph & Framenau, 2012 — Oceania, Asia * Poecilarcys Simon, 1895 — Tunisia * Poecilopachys Simon, 1895 — Oceania * Poltys C. L. Koch, 1843 — Asia, Africa, Oceania * Popperaneus Cabra-García & Hormiga, 2020 — Brazil, Paraguay * Porcataraneus Mi & Peng, 2011 — India, China * Pozonia Schenkel, 1953 — Caribbean, Paraguay, Mexico, Panama * Prasonica Simon, 1895 — Africa, Asia, Oceania * Prasonicella Grasshoff, 1971 — Madagascar, Seychelles * Pronoides Schenkel, 1936 — Asia * Pronous Keyserling, 1881 — Malaysia, Mexico, Central America, South America, Madagascar * Pseudartonis Simon, 1903 — Africa * Pseudopsyllo Strand, 1916 — Cameroon * Psyllo Thorell, 1899 — Cameroon, Congo * Pycnacantha Blackwall, 1865 — Africa * Quokkaraneus Castanheira & Framenau, 2022 – Australia * Rubrepeira Levi, 1992 — Mexico, Brazil * Salsa Framenau & Castanheira, 2022 — Australia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea * Scoloderus Simon, 1887 — Belize, North America, Argentina, Caribbean * Sedasta Simon, 1894 — West Africa * Singa C. L. Koch, 1836 — Africa, Asia, North America, Europe * Singafrotypa Benoit, 1962 — Africa * Siwa Grasshoff, 1970 — Asia * Socca Framenau, Castanheira & Vink, 2022 — Australia * Songaraneus Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China, Korea, Japan, Singapore * Spilasma Simon, 1897 — South America, Honduras * Spinepeira Levi, 1995 — Peru * Spintharidius Simon, 1893 — South America, Cuba * Taczanowskia Keyserling, 1879 — Mexico, South America * Talthybia Thorell, 1898 — China, Myanmar * Tangaraneus Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China * Tatepeira Levi, 1995 — South America, Honduras * Telaprocera Harmer & Framenau, 2008 — Australia * Testudinaria Taczanowski, 1879 — South America, Panama * Thelacantha Hasselt, 1882 — Madagascar, Asia, Australia * Thorellina Berg, 1899 — Myanmar, Papua New Guinea * Togacantha Dahl, 1914 — Africa * Trichonephila Dahl, 1911 — Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America, South America * Umbonata Grasshoff, 1971 — Tanzania * Ursa Simon, 1895 — Asia, South America, South Africa * Venomius Rossi, Castanheira, Baptista & Framenau, 2023 — Australia * Verrucosa McCook, 1888 — North America, Panama, South America, Australia * Wagneriana F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904 — South America, Central America, Caribbean, North America * Wangaraneus Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China, Vietnam * Witica O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1895 — Cuba, Mexico, Peru * Wixia O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1882 — Brazil, Guyana, Bolivia * Xylethrus Simon, 1895 — South America, Mexico, Jamaica, Panama * Yaginumia Archer, 1960 — Asia * Yinaraneus Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China * Zealaranea Court & Forster, 1988 — New Zealand * Zhuaraneus Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China, Vietnam * Zilla C. L. Koch, 1834 — Azerbaijan, India, China * Zygiella F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 — North America, Asia, Ukraine, South America