The dreaded funnel webs can kill a person in less than an hour.
Dangerous Record Discovery in Australia: A huge male Sydney funnel web spider was discovered north of Sydney. The feared Sydney funnel webs, as they are called in their homeland, are one of the most venomous spider species in the world and can kill a person in less than an hour.
The specimen, named Hercules, is 7.9 centimeters long from tip to tip of the leg, surpassing previous record holder Colossus, the Australian Guardian reported on Friday, citing the Australian Reptile Park.
Colossus was captured in 2018 and was one millimeter smaller. Both animals were handed over to the reptile park north of Sydney. Typically, the infamous eight-legged creatures are only between one and two inches tall, with the females clearly towering over the males. The largest female discovered so far, called Megaspider, measures just a little longer, at eight centimeters.
Poison is used to make antidote
The park is the only place in Australia where males are milked for their venom to produce a so-called antidote. Reason: Males are five to six times more venomous than females – and their toxin is particularly suited to producing a life-saving antidote.
“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 output is expected to be enormous and “incredibly valuable” to the park's anti-venom program.
There are 36 species of funnel web spiders. The male of the Sydney species (Atrax robustus), which occurs within a radius of 160 kilometers from the Australian metropolis, is the most dangerous – and, together with the Brazilian wandering spider, entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most venomous spider in the world. the world. Since the reptile park program began in 1981, there have been no deaths from animal bites in Australia. (APA)