Metellina merianae (Scopoli, 1763)
Description
Paracymbium with large dorsal part, projecting and provided with ridges and tubercles. Epigyne with distinctly marked off trapezoid median plate. Prosoma yellowish green, with irregular black stripes, margin black. Sternum black. Chelicerae red-brown. Legs yellowish green, annulated and spotted irregularly with black. Opisthosoma greenish, brownish to almost black, dorsally with vague folium, ventrally with broad, dark median part.
Body length male: 7.5-8 mmBody length female: 7.3-12 mm
Additional information
on rocks, walls and in caves, always near creeks or at other places with high humidity
Troglophile species (Mammola et al. 2018)
Frequency: Widely distributed
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Wiehle 1931)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Loksa 1972)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Embolus
(Locket et al. 1974)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Wiehle 1931)
Epigyne
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Epigyne
(Loksa 1972)
Epigyne
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Vulva
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Vulva
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Prosoma, dorsal view
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
References
Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018)
Cera I (2018) The checklist of Latvian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Environmental and Experimental Biology 16: 139-152 
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S (2019) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2018 [last updated 1 January 2019], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info
Heimer S, Nentwig W (1991) Spinnen Mitteleuropas. Paul Parey Berlin
Helsdingen P J van (2010a) Araneae. In: Fauna Europaea Database (Version 2010.1), online at www.european-arachnology.org
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Lissner J, Jensen J-K, Hansen L J, Simonsen W, Kelduni R, Nissen K (2016b) An updated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Faroe Islands. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 63: 197-240
Locket G H, Millidge A F (1953) British Spiders 2. Ray Soc London
Locket G H, Millidge A F, Merrett P (1974) British Spiders 3. Ray Soc London
Loksa I (1972) Pokok II-Araneae II. Fauna Hungariae 109: 3.1-3.112
Løvbrekke H (unpubl.)
Mammola S, Cardoso P, Ribera C, Pavlek M, Isaia M (2018b) A synthesis on cave-dwelling spiders in Europe. Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 56: 301-316
Otto S (2017) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 08.2017. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
Pantini P, Isaia M (2018) Checklist of the Italian spiders (version June 2018). online at http://www.museoscienzebergamo.it/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=96&Itemid=94
Pfliegler W A, Schönhofer A, Niedbała W, Vella P, Sciberras A, Vella A (2017) New records of mites (Acari) and harvestmen (Opiliones) from Malta with a preliminary checklist of Maltese Arachnida. Soil Organisms 89: 85-110
Roberts M J (1995) Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins Field Guide Bath
Staudt A, Weber D, Nährig D (2013) Webspinnen (Arachnida, Araneae) aus Höhlen des Grossherzogtums Luxemburgs. Ferrantia 69: 115-157
Wiehle H (1931) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea, VI. 27: Familie Araneidae. Tierwelt Deutschlands 23
World Spider Catalog (2019) World Spider Catalog, version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (20.01.2019) doi: 10.24436/2
Updates
| 29-04-2019 | Image insert | |
| 28-04-2013 | Distribution update | Old value |