Fogbow

Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:10 am I don’t like spiders or snakes
But that’s not what it takes
To love me.

Biggest male funnel-web spider dubbed ‘Hercules’ found north of Sydney
Spider measuring record 7.9cm across is almost as big as largest female collected in 2021, which was named Megaspider by Australian Reptile Park

Associated Press
Fri 5 Jan 2024 01.52 CET

With fangs that could pierce a human fingernail, the largest male specimen of the world’s most venomous arachnid has found a new home at the Australian Reptile Park where it will help save lives after a member of the public discovered it by chance.

The potentially deadly Sydney funnel-web spider dubbed “Hercules” was found on the Central Coast, about 80km north of Sydney, and was initially given to a local hospital, the Australian Reptile Park said in a statement.

Spider experts from the nearby park retrieved it and soon realised it was the largest male specimen ever received from the public in Australia.

The spider measures 7.9cm (3.1 inches) from foot to foot, surpassing the park’s previous record-holder from 2018, the male funnel-web named “Colossus”.

The biggest funnel-web spider donated to the Australian Reptile Park was a female measuring 8cm from foot to foot – comparable to a tarantula. It was found in 2021 and given the name “Megaspider”.

Sydney funnel-web spiders usually range in length from 1-5cm, with females being generally larger than their male counterparts but not as deadly. They are predominantly found in forested areas and suburban gardens from Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, to the coastal city of Newcastle in the north and the Blue Mountains to the west.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ptile-park