mistertim wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2025 2:12 am
China wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2025 7:30 pm
@mistertim Your thread has returned.
There's a shortage of funnel-web spiders this year. Experts say it could be deadly
A shortage of Sydney funnel-web spiders this year could have deadly consequences as the species becomes more active going into autumn, experts say.
Humidity and rainfall forecast for the Greater Sydney region in the coming months is expected to heighten male funnel-web activity, increasing the chance of people encountering them - and being bitten.
However, the Australian Reptile Park says it has received far less live funnel-web donations than usual for this time of year and is calling for more now to keep its anti-venom program up and running.
Sydney funnel-webs are the most venomous spiders in the world, and the Reptile Park's program has played a major role in reducing funnel-web spider venom deaths to zero since its conception in 1981.
Click on the link for the full article
Yeah, you wouldn't catch me trying to keep one of those lunatics. Sydney Funnel Web spiders are ultra aggressive and dangerous. Though the only nitpick I'd have is that while they may very well be the most
dangerous spiders (due to how aggro they are), they're not the most
venomous spiders.
On a pure toxicity basis, the most potent venom would actually belong to the Six Eyed Sand spider. But they're also super duper reclusive, are total wimps, and live out in the middle of the desert, so bites from them pretty much never happen.
In related news...
'Big boy' spider becomes Australia's largest deadly funnel-web after surprise discovery
One of Australia's biggest and deadliest spiders is actually three different species, researchers discover — and one of these behemoth arachnids is even bigger than the rest.
Sydney funnel-web spiders (Atrax robustus) are glossy black in color and grow to 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) long. The iconic arachnids are also among the most venomous spiders to humans.
Called funnel-web spiders after their long, narrow, silk-lined burrows these spiders can live in suburban areas and wander into houses during the summer when males leave the burrow to search for mates. Their venom contains a toxin that attacks the human nervous system, so bites need immediate medical attention — otherwise, a victim can die within 15 minutes.
The Sydney funnel-web spider was first described in 1877. Since then, scientists have developed a better understanding of funnel-web spiders and how they are related, describing more types of funnel-web spiders throughout Australia.
Now, scientists have untangled how these species are related by collecting wild spiders throughout the Sydney suburbs and analyzing specimens from Sydney's Australian Museum, which has the largest collection of funnel-web spiders in the world. The scientists closely observed the specimens under a microscope and analyzed their genetics.
This revealed that the Sydney funnel-web spider is actually three species. The study was published Jan. 13 in the journal BMC Ecology and Evolution.
The "real" Sydney funnel-web spider (the creature originally described in 1877 as
Atrax robustus) is found throughout the city and suburbs of Sydney. A second related species is
Atrax montanus, which was first described about 100 years ago and then discarded as inaccurate, until the new research found it does exist. It mostly lives further south and west in rainforests. And a third, larger species,
Atrax christenseni, can be found in a small region surrounding the city of Newcastle, around 105 miles (170km) to the north of Sydney.
Atrax christenseni was named for Kane Christensen, former head of spiders at the Australian Reptile Park, who first described it in the early 2000s and gave the spiders the nickname "big boys." These funnel-web spiders are the largest of the three species, growing up to 3.5 inches (9 cm) long.
Click on the link for the full article
