Dangerous record discovery in Australia: A huge male Sydney funnel-web spider has been discovered north of Sydney. The dreaded Sydney funnel webs, as they are called in their native country, are one of the most venomous spider species in the world and can kill a human in less than an hour.
The specimen, named ‘Hercules’, is 7.9 centimeters long from tip of leg to tip of leg, surpassing the previous record holder ‘Colossus’, the Australian ‘Guardian’ reported on Friday, citing the Australian Reptile Park.
“Colossus” was caught in 2018 and was one millimeter smaller. Both animals were handed over to the reptile park north of Sydney. Normally, the infamous eight-legged creatures are only between one and five centimeters in size, with the females clearly towering over the males. The largest female discovered so far, called ‘Megaspider’, measures only slightly more: eight centimeters.
Spiders were milked in Park
The park is the only place in Australia where the males are milked for their venom to produce a so-called antidote. Reason: The males are five to six times more venomous than the females – and their venom is particularly suited to producing a life-saving antidote.
Gif of ‘Hercules’ for Park ‘incredibly valuable’
“We are used to quite large funnel webs being donated to the park, but receiving such a large male funnel web spider is like hitting the jackpot,” said spider expert Emma Teni. The specimen’s venom production is expected to be enormous and “incredibly valuable” to the park’s antivenom program.
There are 36 species of funnel web spiders. The male of the Sydney species (Atrax robustus), found within 100 miles of the Australian metropolis, is the most dangerous – and has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records along with the Brazilian wandering spider as the most venomous spider in the world. the world. There have been no deaths from animal bites in Australia since the reptile park program began in 1981.
Source: Krone
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