Cyrtophorinae

{{Short description|Subfamily of spiders}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Cyrtophorinae

| image = Tent Spider in Cairns - Cyrtophora moluccensis.jpg

| image_caption = Cyrtophora moluccensis

| taxon = Cyrtophorinae

| authority = Simon, 1895

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| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision = See text

| range_map =

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}}

Cyrtophorinae is a subfamily of spiders in the orb-weaver spider family.{{cite journal|author=Jonathan A. Coddington|year=1989|title=Spinneret Silk Spigot Morphology: Evidence for the Monophyly of Orbweaving Spiders, Cyrtophorinae (Araneidae), and the Group Theridiidae plus Nesticidae|journal=J. Arachnol.|volume=17|pages=17–71|url=http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v17_n1/JoA_v17_p71.pdf|accessdate=May 9, 2011|archive-date=September 17, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917064539/http://americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v17_n1/JoA_v17_p71.pdf|url-status=dead}} Unlike other orb-weavers, spiders belonging to Cyrtophorinae build horizontal, finely meshed platforms within a tangle of irregular webs. The usually dome-shaped platform is a non-sticky orb web.{{cite book|author=William A. Shear|title =Spiders--webs, behavior, and evolution|publisher =Stanford University Press|year =1986|page=[https://archive.org/details/spiderswebsbehav00shea/page/414 414]|isbn =978-0-8047-1203-3|url =https://archive.org/details/spiderswebsbehav00shea|url-access=registration}}

Cyrtophorinae includes the following six genera:{{cite web |url=http://insects.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Acari/Family/Araneidae.txt |author=Joel Hallan |work=Biology Catalog |title=Araneidae |publisher=Texas A&M University |accessdate=February 11, 2011}}

• Cyrtobill Framenau & Scharff, 2009{{cite journal|author=Volker W. Framenau & Nikolaj Scharff|year=2009|title=Cyrtobill darwini, a new species in a new orb-weaving spider genus from Australia (Araneae: Araneidae: Cyrtophorinae)|journal=Records of the Western Australian Museum|volume=25|issue=3 |pages=315–328|doi=10.18195/issn.0312-3162.25(3).2009.315-328 |url=http://www.australasian-arachnology.org/download/publications/Framenau_Scharff_2009_Rec_West_Aust_Mus_(Cyrtobill)_LR.pdf|accessdate= May 9, 2011}}
• Cyrtophora Simon, 1864 (Tent-web spiders)
• Kapogea Levi, 1997
• Mecynogea Simon, 1903
• Megaraneus Lawrence, 1968
• Manogea Levi, 1997

File:Basilica Orbweaver courtship - Mecynogea lemniscata, Leesylvania State Park, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg|Mecynogea lemniscata: courtship

File:Basilica Orbweaver - Mecynogea lemniscata, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg|egg sac + prey

File:Basilica Orbweaver - Mecynogea lemniscata egg sac, Julie Metz Wetlands, Virginia.jpg|egg sac