New bigger and more venomous species of world’s deadliest spider found in Australia
14 January 2025, 20:24
A new species of funnel-web spider has been discovered in Newcastle, Australia - even larger and more venomous than common Sydney funnel-web spiders.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The spider, nicknamed ‘big boy’, can grow up to 9 cm (3.54 inches) in size, larger than the more common Sydney funnel-web, which is 5 cm (1.97 inches) long.
It was first discovered by Kane Christensen, a spider enthusiast and former head of spiders at the Australian Reptile Park.
Researchers have named the spider after Christensen to recognise his discovery and contribution to their research. The ‘Big Boy’ has been given the scientific name Atrax christenseni.
"This particular spider is a lot larger, its venom glands are a lot larger and its fangs are a lot longer," Christensen told Reuters.
The huge black spiders are usually found within around 100 miles from Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
But Christensen noticed that spiders brought in from further north, near Newcastle, are much larger than those found in Sydney.
"Sometimes you might find them in a garage or in a bedroom or somewhere in the house where they might have wandered in during the night," Christensen said.
"I would not recommend touching them that's for sure, they do give copious amounts of venom."
While working as a volunteer in the Australian Reptile Park in the early 2000s, milking spiders for their venom to create antivenom, he noticed distinct differences in the spiders, including in the appearance of their genital bulbs.
In research published this week, scientists confirmed that the larger funnel-webs are indeed a separate species.
While Sydney funnel-webs have fast-acting and highly toxic, potentially lethal venom, the new Newcastle species are larger, and have larger fangs, meaning they give more venom with each bite.
The good news is that the same antivenom used for Sydney funnel-webs is still effective against the new species.
