The largest male specimen of the world’s most venomous spider has been found in Australia

AP News ^ | Updated 9:36 AM CST, January 4, 2024 | Staff

[Red Badger]

SYDNEY (AP) — 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 deadly Sydney funnel-web spider dubbed “Hercules” was found on the Central Coast, about 50 miles north of Sydney, and was initially given to a local hospital, the Australian Reptile Park said in a statement Thursday.

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

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

[Red Badger]

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Spider experts from the nearby park retrieved it

They'd have had to retrieve it from the bottom of my shoe.

[z3n]

In most arachnid species, the female is notably larger than the male, so it makes you wonder if that’s true for the australian funnel web then how big could a large female get.

[Red Badger]

Gonna need a bigger shoe!...................

[goodnesswins]

Does it jump, too?...3 inches is a large spider...glad I do not live in Australia.

[V_TWIN]

They got some weird critters in Aussie land

[Gay State Conservative]

And then they’d have to scoop you up and take you for an autopsy.Its fangs would go right through the sole and into your foot.And then you’d be dead faster than you could say “tie me kangaroo down,sport”.

[V_TWIN]

“glad I do not live in Australia”

And not just because of the spiders either 😏

[Red Badger]

[SkyDancer]

And these will actually chase you. If you had a nest of them in your yard, the whole yard would have to be dug up to the depth of three feet!

[albie]

“Gonna need a bigger shoe!..”

...LMAO!!

[Red Badger]

Nuke it from space.......................

[Magnum44]

eh, I've seen bigger...

[Drawsing]

Tan me hide when I’m dead Jed
Tan me hide when I’m dead.

Well, they tanned me hide when I died Clyde,
and that’s it hangin’ on the shed!

[FlingWingFlyer]

ROTFL!!!

[Gay State Conservative]

...glad I do not live in Australia.

You'd change your mind about that after one visit to Coogee Beach or Bondi Beach...in suburban Sydney. The women there are so gorgeous you'd be asking yourself “is it OK to have a couple of dozen wives?”

[albie]

If their fangs can penetrate a fingernail, they can get thru a Nike.

[Ikeon]

despite being " the most deadly spider in Australia".

no one has died from a bite by these ugly buggers since 1981... cows kill more people that these things do.

[Red Badger]

I remember that movie as a kid!...................

[dfwgator]

Beat me to it, this time.