In synonymy:
Auchicybaeus Gertsch, 1933 = Meta C. L. Koch, 1835 (Lehtinen, 1967: 217)

type Meta fusca De Geer, 1778, sensu C. L. Koch, 1835 (= misidentified Meta menardi (Latreille, 1804)); gender feminine

N.B.: considered a senior synonym of Auchicybaeus Gertsch, 1933c: 11 [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidergen:04946] (type A. ovalis Gertsch 1933) by Lehtinen, 1967: 217; not a senior synonym of Metabus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 (Archer, 1951a: 5); the synonymy of Metellina Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941 by Wunderlich, 1987a: 129 and Murphy & Roberts, 2015: ix has not been followed by subsequent workers and is not accepted here; type genus of the subfamily Metainae Simon, 1894a: 726 (sub Meteae).

Transferred to other genera:
Meta adjuntaensis Petrunkevitch, 1930 -- see Araneus
Meta aerea Hogg, 1896 -- see Trichonephila
Meta alticola Berland, 1913 -- see Chrysometa
Meta antrorum Simon, 1907 -- see Metellina
Meta argentiopunctata Rainbow, 1916 -- see Mesida
Meta aurora Simon, 1901 -- see Allende
Meta barreti Kulczyński, 1899 -- see Metellina
Meta baywanga Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 -- see Neriene
Meta berlandi Caporiacco, 1954 -- see Manogea
Meta blanda Bryant, 1945 -- see Araneus
Meta brasilica Soares & Camargo, 1948 -- see Manogea
Meta bryantae Brignoli, 1983 -- see Araneus
Meta canariensis Schmidt, 1975 -- see Metellina
Meta chilensis Tullgren, 1902 -- see Allende
Meta cordillera Tullgren, 1902 -- see Allende
Meta curtisi (McCook, 1894) -- see Metellina
Meta davidi Schenkel, 1963 -- see Metleucauge
Meta dentipalpis Kroneberg, 1875 -- see Metleucauge
Meta digna (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869) -- see Leucauge
Meta doenitzi Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 -- see Neoscona
Meta echinata Tullgren, 1902 -- see Allende
Meta espiritosantensis Soares & Camargo, 1955 -- see Manogea
Meta explorans Chamberlin, 1916 -- see Chrysometa
Meta fuegiana Simon, 1902 -- see Metabus
Meta gertschi Lessert, 1938 -- see Metellina
Meta gravida (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899) -- see Metabus
Meta hotteiensis Bryant, 1945 -- see Araneus
Meta indigna (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1870) -- see Leucauge
Meta jayuyensis Petrunkevitch, 1930 -- see Chrysometa
Meta kirgisica Bakhvalov, 1974 -- see Metellina
Meta kompirensis Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 -- see Metleucauge
Meta lepida Keyserling, 1882 -- see Chrysometa
Meta linguiformis Franganillo, 1930 -- see Chrysometa
Meta longipalpis Pavesi, 1883 -- see Metellina
Meta longipes (Nicolet, 1849) -- see Allende
Meta ludibunda (Keyserling, 1893) -- see Chrysometa
Meta maculata (Blackwall, 1865) -- see Tetragnatha
Meta melanicruciata Saito, 1939 -- see Enoplognatha
Meta merianae (Scopoli, 1763) -- see Metellina
Meta merianopsis Tullgren, 1910 -- see Metellina
Meta minima Denis, 1953 -- see Metellina
Meta minuta Keyserling, 1882 -- see Chrysometa
Meta monticola Keyserling, 1882 -- see Chrysometa
Meta nigra Franganillo, 1920 -- see Metellina
Meta nigrohumeralis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883 -- see Allende
Meta nigrovittata Keyserling, 1865 -- see Chrysometa
Meta orientalis Spassky, 1932 -- see Metellina
Meta patagiata Simon, 1901 -- see Allende
Meta peckhami (McCook, 1894) -- see Metellina
Meta porteri Simon, 1898 -- see Allende
Meta ramblae Schmidt, 1975 -- see Metellina
Meta raripila (Keyserling, 1893) -- see Chrysometa
Meta reticulata (Linnaeus, 1758) -- see Metellina
Meta reticulata mengei (Blackwall, 1869) -- see Metellina
Meta reticuloides Yaginuma, 1958 -- see Zhinu
Meta rufolineata (Urquhart, 1889) -- see Taraire
Meta satulla Keyserling, 1880 -- see Chrysometa
Meta sinensis Schenkel, 1953 -- see Metleucauge
Meta soror Thorell, 1877 -- see Larinia
Meta speciosissima Keyserling, 1881 -- see Leucauge
Meta tiniktirika Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 -- see Neriene
Meta torta Tullgren, 1902 -- see Allende
Meta trivittata Keyserling, 1887 -- see Nanometa
Meta unicolor Keyserling, 1881 -- see Chrysometa
Meta vacillans Butler, 1876 -- see Tetragnatha
Meta vena Dönitz & Strand, 1906 -- see Metleucauge
Meta villiersi Denis, 1955 -- see Metellina
Meta yunohamensis Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 -- see Metleucauge

In synonymy:
Meta americana Marusik & Koponen, 1992 = Meta ovalis (Gertsch, 1933) (Dondale, 1995: 125).
Meta milleri Kratochvíl, 1942 = Meta bourneti Simon, 1922 (Wunderlich, 2011: 209).

Nomina dubia:
Meta albisparsa Mello-Leitão, 1944b: 332 (m, Argentina) -- Levi, 1986a: 106.
Meta preciosissima (Keyserling, 1893: 367, pl. 19, f. 274, f, Guatemala, originally in Argyroepeira) -- Levi, 1986a: 106.
Meta voluptabilis (Keyserling, 1893: 356, pl. 18, f. 263, m, Brazil, originally in Argyroepeira) -- Levi, 1986a: 106.

Meta abdomenalis Patel & Reddy, 1993a: 1, f. 1a-d (Df).

Meta birmanica Thorell, 1898: 333 (Df).

Meta bourneti Simon, 1922: 199 (Dmf).
Meta bourneti Simon, 1929: 657, 752, f. 1011-1012 (mf).
Meta bourneti Kratochvíl, 1942: 111, f. I.2 (f).
Meta milleri Kratochvíl, 1942: 111, f. I.1, II.1-3 (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:013882].
Meta bourneti Browning & Tams, 1944: 94, f. 1-2, 4 (mf).
Meta bourneti Locket & Millidge, 1953: 119, f. 78A, D (mf).
Meta bourneti Levi, 1980a: 43, f. 128-131 (mf).
Meta bourneti Roberts, 1985: 202, f. 90e, 91e (mf).
Meta bourneti Heimer & Nentwig, 1991: 62, f. 137 (mf).
Meta bourneti Roberts, 1995: 310, f. (mf).
Meta bourneti Bellmann, 1997: 100, f. (f).
Meta bourneti Roberts, 1998: 323, f. (mf).
Meta bourneti Trotta, 2005: 174, f. 435, 437 (mf).
Meta bourneti Wunderlich, 2011: 206, f. 4a-b (mf, S of Meta milleri, after Brignoli, 1983c: 229).
Meta bourneti Isaia et al., 2011: 144, f. 2.75A-B. 2.76-77 (mf).
Meta bourneti Prince, 2018: 26, f. 1-2 (f).
Meta bourneti Morano, 2020: 104, f. 2-3 (mf).
Meta bourneti Geci et al., 2022: 76, f. 4A-C (f).
Meta bourneti Hoyas, 2022: 168, f. 1-2 (f).

Meta bowo Wang et al., 2022a: 119, f. 1A-B, 2A-C, 3A-E, 4A-B (Dmf).

Meta cona Wang et al., 2022a: 124, f. 1C-D, 5A-E, 6A-E, 7A-B (Dmf).

Meta dolloff Levi, 1980a: 43, f. 132-135 (Dmf).

Meta gyirong Wang et al., 2022a: 128, f. 1E, 8A-C, 9A-D (Dm).

Meta hamata Wang et al., 2020a: 2, f. 1A-B, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-E (Dmf).

Meta hongyuan Wang et al., 2022a: 130, f. 1F-G, 10A-E, 11A-D, 12A-B (Dmf).

Meta menardi Yaginuma, 1986a: 124, f. 66 (mf, misidentified).
Meta menardi Chikuni, 1989b: 88, f. 84 (mf, misidentified).
Meta japonica Tanikawa, 1993b: 98, f. 1-8 (Dmf).
Meta japonica Tanikawa, 2007c: 97, f. 322, 776-777 (mf).
Meta japonica Tanikawa, 2009: 406, f. 13-14 (mf).

Meta longlingensis Wang et al., 2020a: 7, f. 1I, 5A-D, 6A-C (Dm).

Meta menardi Paik, Yaginuma & Namkung, 1969: 823, f. 50-51 (f, misidentified).
Meta manchurica Marusik & Koponen, 1992: 138, f. 5-9, 15 (Dmf).
Meta menardi Kim, Kim & Lee, 1999: 53, f. 8, 33, 55 (mf; misidentified per Yoo et al., 2015: 40).
Meta manchurica Namkung, 2002: 228, f. 18.15a-d (mf).
Meta manchurica Namkung, 2003: 230, f. 18.15a-d (mf).
Meta manchurica Marusik & Kovblyuk, 2011: 235, f. 34.22-23 (mf).
Meta manchurica Kim & Lee, 2013: 44, f. 27A-C (mf).
Meta manchurica Fomichev & Omelko, 2023b: 50, f. 1-19, 23 (mf).

Aranea novem-maculata Martini & Goeze, 1778: 293 (D).
Aranea menardii Latreille, 1804a: 266 (Df).
Aranea novemmaculata Panzer, 1804b: 148, pl. 158, f. 6.
Epeira menardi Latreille, 1806: 108.
Meta fusca C. L. Koch, 1835: 134, pl. 12-13 (mf, misidentified).
Meta fusca C. L. Koch, 1841a: 118, f. 685-687 (mf, misidentified).
Meta menardi Thorell, 1856: 98.
Meta menardi Westring, 1861: 78 (m).
Epeira fusca Blackwall, 1864a: 349, pl. 26, f. 252 (mf, misidentified).
Meta menardi Thorell, 1870a: 38.
Meta menardi Hansen, 1882: 25, pl. 2, f. 2 (mf).
Meta menardi Chyzer & Kulczyński, 1891: 139, pl. 6, f. 3 (mf).
Meta menardi Keyserling, 1893: 313, pl. 16, f. 231 (mf).
Meta menardi McCook, 1894: 246, pl. 22, f. 4-5 (mf).
Meta menardi Simon, 1894a: 735, f. 810 (m).
Meta menardi Becker, 1896: (2): 60, pl. 12, f. 1 (mf).
Meta menardi Bösenberg, 1901: 47, pl. 3, f. 37 (mf).
Meta menardi Simon, 1929: 656, 751, f. 1009-1010 (mf).
Meta menardi Reimoser, 1929c: 62, f. 7 (mf).
Meta menardi Wiehle, 1931: 128, f. 4c, 5b, 205-209 (mf).
Meta menardi Komatsu, 1942b: 65, f. 7 (f).
Meta menardi Drensky, 1943: 247, f. 31 (mf).
Meta menardi Browning & Tams, 1944: 94, f. 3 (mf).
Meta menardi Locket & Millidge, 1953: 119, f. 78B-C (mf).
Meta menardi Komatsu, 1961a: 29, f. 18A-D (f).
Meta menardi Miller, 1971: 202, pl. XXXVII, f. 8-9 (mf).
Meta menardi Loksa, 1972: 72, f. 58B, 61C-D (mf).
Meta menardi Locket, Millidge & Merrett, 1974: 61, f. 36B (m).
Meta menardi Roberts, 1985: 202, f. 90d, 91d (mf).
Meta menardi Coddington, 1990: 16, f. 54 (m).
Meta menardi Heimer, 1990: 119, f. 30-31 (mf).
Meta menardi Heimer & Nentwig, 1991: 62, f. 136 (mf).
Meta menardi Marusik & Koponen, 1992: 140, f. 10-13, 16 (mf).
Meta menardi Terhivuo, 1993: 55, f. 1h (f).
Meta menardi Roberts, 1995: 309, f. (mf).
Meta menardi Hormiga, Eberhard & Coddington, 1995: 337, f. 13F-G (m).
Meta menardi Scharff & Coddington, 1997: 374, f. 11 (m).
Meta menardi Bellmann, 1997: 100, f. (f).
Meta menardi Roberts, 1998: 323, f. (mf).
Meta menardi Trotta, 2005: 174, f. 426, 434, 436 (m).
Meta menardi Almquist, 2006: 111, f. 131a-g (mf).
Meta menardi Jäger, 2006d: 3, f. 1-3a-b (m).
Meta menardi Álvarez-Padilla et al., 2009: 140, f. 11b-c, 12a (mf).
Meta menardi Wunderlich, 2011: 206, f. 3a-b (mf).
Meta menardi Isaia et al., 2011: 146, f. 2.80A-B. 2.81-82 (mf).
Meta menardi Álvarez-Padilla & Hormiga, 2011a: 773, f. 56A-F, 57A-F, 58A-F, 59A-F, 60A-C (mf).
Meta menardi Lecigne, 2020: 50, pl. 1L-M, ph. 1 (mf).
Meta menardi Morano, 2020: 104, f. 4-5 (mf).

Meta meruensis Tullgren, 1910: 151, pl. 3, f. 74 (Df).
"Meta" meruensis Marusik & Larsen, 2018: 211 (misplaced in Meta and may belong to Leucauge).
Meta meruensis Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2020t: 24, 4 f. (f).
Meta meruensis Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2023a: 27, p 26: 1 f., p. 27: 1-4 (f).

Meta mixta O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885b: 43 (Df).

Meta monogrammata Butler, 1876a: 352, pl. 10, f. 3 (Df).

Meta montana Hogg, 1919: 87, pl. 8, f. 3 (Df).

Meta nebulosa Schenkel, 1936b: 97, f. 34 (Dj).

Meta nigridorsalis Tanikawa, 1994b: 66, f. 1-10 (Dmf).
Meta nigridorsalis Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003: 63, f. 26A-F, 27A-H, pl. IIIA-D (mf).
Meta nigridorsalis Tanikawa, 2007c: 97, f. 323-324, 778-779 (mf).
Meta nigridorsalis Tanikawa, 2009: 407, f. 15-16 (mf).
Meta nigridorsalis Serita, 2021e: 273, f. 1n (f).
Meta nigridorsalis Okumura, 2022: 47, f. 11A-B (mf).

Meta merianae obscura Kulczyński, 1899: 389 (Df).
Meta obscura Denis, 1953c: 4 (elevated from subspecies of M. merianae, fig. see Metellina minima).
Meta obscura Wunderlich, 2011: 209 (dubious taxon).

Meta menardi Emerton, 1884: 328, pl. 34, f. 18, pl. 37, f. 33 (mf, misidentified).
Meta menardi Emerton, 1902: 190, f. 443-445 (mf, misidentified).
Auchicybaeus ovalis Gertsch, 1933c: 11, f. 15 (Df).
Meta menardi Kaston, 1948: 223, f. 700-703 (m, misidentified).
Meta menardi Lehtinen, 1967: 217 (S, rejected).
Meta menardi Levi, 1980a: 42, f. 112-127 (mf, misidentified).
Meta americana Marusik & Koponen, 1992: 138, f. 1-4, 14 (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:056645].
Meta americana Hormiga, Eberhard & Coddington, 1995: 324, f. 6A-C (m).
Meta ovalis Dondale, 1995: 125 (removed from S of M. menardi, contra Lehtinen, 1967, S of Meta americana).
Meta americana Griswold et al., 1998: 61, f. 10C (m).
Meta ovalis Paquin & Dupérré, 2003: 206, f. 2292-2294 (mf).
Meta ovalis Dondale et al., 2003: 116, f. 255-263 (mf).
Meta ovalis Kuntner, Coddington & Hormiga, 2008: 177, f. 19E-I (mf).
Meta ovalis Breuss, 2009: 306, f. 18-20 (m).
Meta menardi Murphy & Roberts, 2015: ix (S of M. ovalis with M. menardi not sufficiently justified and is not accepted here).
Meta ovalis Kallal & Hormiga, 2018a: 408, f. 3A (m).
Meta ovalis Paquin et al., 2021: 22, f. 1-3 (mf).

Meta qianshanensis Zhu & Zhu, 1983b: 139, f. a-f (Dmf).
Meta qianshanensis Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999: 216, f. 123H-I, L-M (mf).
Meta qianshanensis Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003: 65, f. 28A-F (mf).
Meta qianshanensis Wunderlich, 2008a: 98, f. 20-21 (m).

Meta serrana Franganillo, 1930: 20 (Df).

Meta shenae Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003: 67, f. 29A-D (Dm).
Meta shenae Zhao, Yin & Peng, 2009: 19, f. 9-11 (Df).

Meta simlaensis Tikader, 1982a: 91, f. 179-182 (Df).

Meta stridulans Wunderlich, 1987a: 130, f. 353-359 (Dmf).

Meta tangi Wang et al., 2020a: 10, f. 1C-D, 7A-D, 8A-B, 9A-E (Dmf).

Meta tibet Wang et al., 2022a: 134, f. 1H-J, 13A-E, 14A-E, 15A-B (Dmf).

Meta turbatrix Keyserling, 1887a: 212, pl. 19, f. 3 (Dm).

Meta wanglang Wang et al., 2022a: 138, f. 1J-K, 16A-E, 17A-D, 18A-B (Dmf).

Meta weining Wang et al., 2022a: 142, f. 1L-M, 19A-E, 20A-D, 21A-B (Dmf).

Meta yani Wang et al., 2020a: 14, f. 1E-F, 10A-D, 11A-B, 12A-E (Dmf).

Meta yinae Wang et al., 2020a: 18, f. 1G-H, 13A-D, 14A-B, 15A-E (Dmf).