Araneidae Clerck, 1757

Family |   ACCEPTED

N.B.: family name and authorship as per ICZN, 2009 Opinion 2224, after application by Kluge, 2007; Arkyinae L. Koch, 1872 (genera Arkys Walckenaer, 1837 and Demadiana Strand, 1929) elevated to Arkyidae by Dimitrov et al., 2017: 244; monophyly of Araneidae stated by Kallal et al., 2018: 138; Nephilinae Simon, 1894 [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spiderfam:0111] elevated to family and relimited by Kuntner, 2006: 24, re-synonymized with Araneidae by Dimitrov et al., 2017: 244; Nephilinae and Phonognathinae Simon, 1894 (Simon, 1894a: 746 as Phonognatheae), the valid name for Zygiellinae Simon, 1929 sensu Wunderlich, 2004f, elevated to family by Kuntner et al., 2019: 563, not accepted by Scharff et al., 2020 and Kallal et al., 2020, and confirmed as family by Kuntner et al., 2023: 969-970 along with the separation of Paraplectanoididae Kuntner, Coddington, Agnarsson & Bond, 2023; Nephilinae and Phonognathinae downgraded to subfamily and Paraplectanoididae considered a synonym of Araneidae by Hormiga et al., 2023: 803; family status of Paraplectanoididae, Nephilidae and Phonognathidae revalidated by Kuntner et al., 2025: 17, 23, but not accepted here for reasons of stability; Oarcinae (Gnolus and Oarces) transferred from the Mimetidae to the Araneidae by Dimitrov et al., 2012: Suppl. 1, p. 15, re-transfer to the Mimetidae by Eskov & Marusik, 2023: 340 not accepted here (by majority vote of the WSC boards); Eskov & Marusik, 2023: 241 and Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 consider Zygiellidae as the valid name instead of Phonognathidae and accept the family status of Nephilidae; the status of the Nephilinae and Phonognathinae (= Zygiellidae) as subfamilies is accepted by majority vote of the WSC boards; Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 list ten subfamilies and tribes as valid (besides Nephilidae and Zygiellidae): Araneinae, Argiopinae Simon, 1890a: 81 (sub Argiopidae), Cyrtarachninae Simon, 1895a: 876 (sub Cyrtarachneae), Сyrtophorinae Simon, 1895a: 876 (sub Cyrtophoreae), Gasteracanthinae O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1871e: 217 (sub Gasteracanthides), Micratheninae Simon, 1895a: 848 (sub Micratheneae), Guizygiellinae Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003: 42, Caerostrini Simon, 1895a: 831 (sub Cerostreae), Hypognathini Simon, 1895a: 871 (sub Hypognatheae) and Poltyini Simon, 1895a: 888 (sub Poltyeae).

Gen. Parazygiella Wunderlich, 2004 urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidergen:03687
type Zilla montana C. L. Koch, 1834; gender feminine
N.B.: considered a junior synonym of Zygiella F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 by Gregorič et al., 2015a: 241 and revalidated by Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52.

In synonymy:

Parazygiella alpina (L. Koch, 1870, T from Zilla) = Parazygiella montana (C. L. Koch, 1834) (Simon, 1929: 754, sub Zygiella)

Parazygiella carpenteri (Archer, 1951) | | USA urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:017168
Zygiella carpenteri Archer, 1951a: 18, f. 34 (Df) Original description
Zygiella carpenteri Gertsch, 1964a: 9, f. 11-14 (Dm, f)
Zygiella carpenteri Levi, 1974a: 280, f. 62-69 (mf)
Parazygiella carpenteri Wunderlich, 2004f: 928 (T from Zygiella)
Zygiella carpenteri Gregorič et al., 2015a: 241 (T from Parazygiella)
Parazygiella carpenteri Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 (T from Zygiella, by revalidating the genus Parazygiella)
Parazygiella dispar (Kulczyński, 1885) | | Russia (Far East), Japan, North America urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:017170
Zilla montana Emerton, 1884: 323, pl. 34, f. 14, pl. 37, f. 22-23, 26, 28 (mf; misidentified sensu Levi, 1974a: 278)
Zilla dispar Kulczyński, 1885: 24, pl. 9, f. 7 (Dmf) Original description
Zilla montana McCook, 1894: 239, pl. 18, f. 3-4 (mf; misidentified sensu Levi, 1974a: 278)
Zilla montana Emerton, 1902: 185, f. 435a (m; misidentified sensu Levi, 1974a: 278)
Aranea dispar Bösenberg & Strand, 1906: 238
Zilla montana Emerton, 1909: 201, pl. 5, f. 4b (f; misidentified sensu Levi, 1974a: 278)
Zilla montana Comstock, 1940: 474, f. 471c, 472c (mf; misidentified sensu Levi, 1974a: 278)
Zygiella montana Levi & Field, 1954: 452, f. 36-37 (mf; misidentified sensu Levi, 1974a: 278)
Zygiella dispar Gertsch, 1964a: 7, f. 7-10 (mf)
Zygiella dispar Levi, 1974a: 278, f. 33-37, 44, 48 (mf, S of Zygiella nearctica, revalidated by Dondale et al., 2003: 303; f. 32, 38-43, 45-47 see Zygiella nearctica)
Zygiella montana Chikuni, 1989b: 77, f. 44 (mf; misidentified per Tanikawa, 2002: 105)
Zygiella dispar Levi, 2002: 541, f. 106-107 (f)
Zygiella dispar Tanikawa, 2002: 105, f. 1-6 (mf)
Zygiella dispar Dondale et al., 2003: 303, f. 711-718 (mf)
Parazygiella dispar Wunderlich, 2004f: 928 (T from Zygiella)
Parazygiella disper Tanikawa, 2007c: 55, f. 83-85, 483-484 (mf, lapsus)
Parazygiella dispar Tanikawa, 2009: 433, f. 65-66 (mf)
Parazygiella dispar Marusik & Kovblyuk, 2011: 269, f. 41.1-8 (mf)
Zygiella dispar Gregorič et al., 2015a: 241 (T from Parazygiella)
Zygiella dispar Tanikawa, 2017a: 1, f. 1E-F, 2D-F (mf)
Parazygiella dispar Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 (T from Zygiella, by revalidating the genus Parazygiella)
Parazygiella hiramatsui (Tanikawa, 2017) | | Japan urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:049604
Zygiella hiramatsui Tanikawa, 2017a: 1, f. 1A-D, 2A-C (Dmf) Original description
Parazygiella hiramatsui Mi, Wang & Chen, 2026: 52 (T from Zygiella)
Parazygiella jianxini Mi & Wang, 2026 | | China urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:066728
Parazygiella jianxini Mi & Wang in Mi, Wang & Chen, 2026: 43, f. 3A-F, 4A-E, 5A-D (Dmf) Original description
Parazygiella montana (C. L. Koch, 1834) | | Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Middle Siberia), Uzbekistan urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:017179 TYPE SPECIES
Zilla montana C. L. Koch, 1834: 125, pl. 19 (Df) Original description
Zilla montana C. L. Koch, 1839a: 146, f. 536-537 (Dmf)
Zilla alpina L. Koch, 1870: 16 (Dmf; preoccupied by Giebel, 1867, see Phylloneta sisyphia) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:063403]
Zilla montana Kulczyński, 1885: 25, pl. 9, f. 8 (m)
Zilla montana Chyzer & Kulczyński, 1891: 137, pl. 5, f. 33 (f)
Zilla montana Bösenberg, 1901: 44, pl. 3, f. 33 (mf)
Araneus montanus Lessert, 1910b: 341
Zygiella montana Simon, 1929: 663, 754, f. 1020, 1026 (mf; S of Zilla alpina L. Koch)
Zilla montana Wiehle, 1931: 38, f. 46-48 (mf)
Zilla montana Drensky, 1943: 227, f. 8 (mf)
Zygiella montana Miller, 1971: 202, pl. XXXVII, f. 10-11 (mf)
Zygiella montana Levi, 1974a: 278, f. 51-56, 59-61 (mf)
Zygiella montana Heimer & Nentwig, 1991: 64, f. 141 (mf)
Zygiella montana Roberts, 1995: 335, f. (mf)
Zygiella montana Roberts, 1998: 347, f. (mf)
Parazygiella montana Wunderlich, 2004f: 936 (T from Zygiella)
Parazygiella montana Topçu et al., 2006a: 336, f. 2 (f)
Zygiella montana Gregorič et al., 2015a: 241 (T from Parazygiella)
Parazygiella montana Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 (T from Zygiella, by revalidating the genus Parazygiella)
Parazygiella nearctica (Gertsch, 1964) | | Canada, USA urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:039205
Zygiella nearctica Gertsch, 1964a: 4, f. 3-6 (Dmf) Original description
Zygiella dispar Levi, 1974a: 278, f. 32, 38-43, 45-47 (mf; misidentified per Dondale et al., 2003: 303)
Zygiella nearctica Paquin & Dupérré, 2003: 49, f. 350-352 (mf)
Zygiella nearctica Dondale et al., 2003: 303, f. 711-718 (mf, removed from S of Zygiella dispar, rejecting Levi, 1974a: 278)
Parazygiella nearctica Mi, Wang & Chen, 2026: 52 (T from Zygiella)
Parazygiella yanghongae Mi & Wang, 2026 | | China urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:066729
Parazygiella yanghongae Mi & Wang in Mi, Wang & Chen, 2026: 48, f. 6A-F, 7A-E, 8A-D (Dmf) Original description

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