The discovery of the world's largest poisonous spider in Australia
Although this spider belongs to the most poisonous species of spiders on earth, but now it uses its sting in a program to produce antidote!
According to Faradid, the largest male specimen of a Sydney funnel web spider (the world's most poisonous spider species) was discovered on the central coast of Australia, about 50 miles north of Sydney.
Known for their large fangs and painful bites, funnel web spiders are usually between one and five centimeters long, with females often larger than males. The most recent record holder of this species, aptly named “Hercules”, is 7.9 cm long and got this nickname from “Colossus”, a male found in 2018 that was 7 cm long.
The recent wet and rainy weather has increased the activity of spider webs, most of which are in suburban gardens or forest areas. Hercules was delivered to the Australian Reptile Park through public donation, becoming the 100th funnel web donated since November.
“When I first saw Hercules, I definitely thought it was a female because it was so big,” said Emma Tenney, the park's spider keeper.
The largest funnel web ever recorded is a megaspider, an eight-centimeter-long female. He was left in a Tupperware container in the park in 2021.
“Spiders get their name from the funnel-shaped silk tunnels they build at the entrance to their nests, which trap passing insects and other prey,” Corinne Wetzel wrote for Smithsonian Magazine in 2021. “Not all funnel web spiders are dangerous, but many have large fangs and fast-acting venom.”
Of the nearly 40 species of funnel webs, only the Hercules species, the Sydney funnel web spider (Atrax robustus), is associated with human fatalities. While only 10 to 15 percent of funnel web stings are venomous, according to the 2023 report, all species should be considered potentially dangerous because the venom works quickly on victims. Poisoning usually occurs within half an hour and can kill a small child in less than 15 minutes or an adult in three days.
But now that Hercules is in the Australian Reptile Park, he doesn't use his big body to bite. Since 1981, the park has run a successful spider venom program where more than 2,000 spiders, from babies to adults, are kept and de-venomed in weekly programs.
Then, the poison taken is injected in very small but increasing doses to the rabbits, which over time produce antibodies against the poison. Scientists at vaccine company Seqirus take blood from rabbits and spin it in a centrifuge to separate the antibodies. The antibodies are then sent to hospitals across Australia, where they can be administered to any human who has been bitten by a funnel-web fang. According to the Australian Museum, usually between 30 and 40 people are bitten each year.
Tenney says that it takes between 120 and 200 funnel webs to produce one bottle of antidote. Fortunately, there have been no reported deaths from funnel web bites in Australia since the program began.
Considering Hercules' size, his contribution to the antidote program is huge. Because funnel web spiders only live a year, the park works quickly to ensure Hercules makes an immediate and lasting impression.
