The largest male specimen of the world’s most venomous arachnid – the deadly funnel-web spider – has found a new home at the Australian Reptile Park in Sydney, where it will help save lives.
The Sydney spider was named after the Greek God “Hercules” due its size, measuring in at 7.9 centimetres from foot to foot, surpassing the park’s former record-holder from 2018, “Colossus”.
According to ABC News, spider specialists from a neighbouring park made the discovery on the Central Coast of New South Wales, finding the largest male funnel-web spider specimen ever obtained in Australia.
“We’re used to having pretty big funnel-web spiders donated to the park, however, receiving a male funnel-web this big is like hitting the jackpot,” said Emma Teni, a spider keeper at Australian Reptile Park.
“His [Hercules] venom output could be enormous, proving incredibly valuable for the park’s venom program.”
Since the inception of the program in 1981, no fatalities have been reported in Australia from a funnel-web spider bite.
Source: ABC News
