Sydney Funnel-Web Spider:
Australian scientists have discovered a bigger, more venomous species of the Sydney funnel-web spider.
- Scientists have named this 9-centimetre (3.54 inches) long species as Atrax christenseni.
- The new funnel-web species has earned the nickname “Big Boy” and was first discovered in the early 2000s near Newcastle, 170 km (105 miles) north of Sydney.
- It is a shiny, dark brown to black spiders with finger-like spinnerets (silk-spinning organs) at the end of their abdomen.
- Its venom glands are a lot larger and its fangs are a lot longer.
- Only the male Sydney funnel-web, which carries a much stronger venom, is responsible for human deaths.
- They are found in bushy suburban areas, open and closed sclerophyll forests and woodlands, often on south or east-facing slopes or in shady gullies.
- Funnel-web spiders:
- These are one of the most dangerous arachnids in the world.
- There are 36 described species of Australian funnel-web spiders and they are currently placed in three genera: Hadronyche, Atrax and Illawarra.
- Their venoms are filled with 40 different toxic proteins.
