Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Contact    |    RSS icon Twitter icon Facebook icon  
Unexplained Mysteries
You are viewing: Home > News > Nature & Environment > News story
Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )  
All ▾
Search Submit

Nature & Environment

'Megaspider' is so large it can bite through fingernails

By T.K. Randall
November 21, 2021 · Comment icon 25 comments

As if funnel web spiders weren't already large enough... Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
A zoo in Australia has come into possession of one of the largest funnel web spider specimens ever found.
As if the spiders in Australia weren't bad enough already, a gargantuan female funnel web spider measuring a whopping 8cm across was recently donated to Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, New South Wales as part of its ongoing anti-venom program.

The spider is particularly unusual because funnel web's usually only grow to a maximum of 5cm.

"In my 30-plus years at the park, I have never seen a funnel web spider this big," said the park's education officer Michael Tate.
"She is unusually large and if we can get the public to hand in more spiders like her, it will only result in more lives being saved due to the huge amount of venom they can produce."

"People can bring any collected spiders to the reptile park itself. However, if they can't get to us, we have drop off zones around Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle and all facilities are provided with a spider safety kit to house the spiders until the Australian Reptile Park staff can come and pick them up each week."

Funnel web spiders are a particularly deadly species, with the largest specimens reportedly being capable of biting through fingernails and even shoes.

With any luck, this particular monster's venom will go on to help save many lives.



Source: MSN.com | Comments (25)




Other news and articles
Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #16 Posted by Abramelin 3 years ago
You have a recipe?
Comment icon #17 Posted by HandsomeGorilla 3 years ago
think that's bad? lol honestly she's not terribly oversized, they get pretty large?  but in terms of the pure terror factor, I'll introduce you to one of my favorites...the Japanese Giant Funnel Web, aka Macrothele gigas. They're also astonishingly fast whereas Sydney Funnel Webs may be a bit slower. they can also commonly have red fang sheaths and glowing eyes. no comprehensive toxicity studies have been done, to my knowledge, but they're potentially lethal and the only advice is, "don't get bitten"  ohhhh and they grow 5-6", twice the size of this one  https://youtu.be/rJ_5kv1twkU
Comment icon #18 Posted by HandsomeGorilla 3 years ago
whatever it can safely subdue, although researchers were surprised to find out that the venom is only highly toxic to humans and other primates. a poodle or kitty could get bitten and they'd be fine outside of maybe a gruesome mechanical wound from the very powerful fangs. those are basically what the do the prey in, the venom is just a backup. there are trapdoor spiders from Malaysia that have such powerful mandibles that they are caught in between evolution; they have venom glands, but there's now no duct leading it to the fangs, therefore the spider has no way to inject it https://www.flick... [More]
Comment icon #19 Posted by jethrofloyd 3 years ago
'The goliath bird-eater' spider - is the world's biggest spider. Compared to him, this australian spider is a dwarf.
Comment icon #20 Posted by HandsomeGorilla 3 years ago
and have very weak venom  everyone references the Goliath while it has a contender, the Pink Foot Goliath (theraphosa stirmi) which I've HEARD can attain a 13" (33cm)legspan there's also the Giant Huntsman, Heteropoda maxima, that reaches a 13" legspan but they're very leggy without much body mass
Comment icon #21 Posted by Sovreign citizen 3 years ago
The most vile creature ever on the continent till the two leggers came.
Comment icon #22 Posted by psyche101 3 years ago
What.... Eudibamus cursoris?
Comment icon #23 Posted by Sovreign citizen 3 years ago
No. He gave me a great deal on my auto insurance.
Comment icon #24 Posted by and then 3 years ago
"just"?  I'd be trying to buy a flamethrower if I lived around critters like that.
Comment icon #25 Posted by and then 3 years ago
Thanks, man.  I'll be seeing that thing in my nightmares.   


Please Login or Register to post a comment.


Our new book is out now!
Book cover

The Unexplained Mysteries
Book of Weird News

 AVAILABLE NOW 

Take a walk on the weird side with this compilation of some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the pages of a newspaper.

Click here to learn more

We need your help!
Patreon logo

Support us on Patreon

 BONUS CONTENT 

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can gain access to a wide range of exclusive perks including our popular 'Lost Ghost Stories' series.

Click here to learn more

Recent news and articles