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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

Posted on 01/04/2024 8:50:58 AM PST by 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”.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Gardening; Health/Medicine; Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: arachnid; australia; spider
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To: dfwgator

21 posted on 01/04/2024 9:10:25 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while l aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Magnum44

22 posted on 01/04/2024 9:10:30 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Red Badger

ROTFL! YOU are on a roll this morning. Keep it up.


23 posted on 01/04/2024 9:10:52 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (America!Biden has turned what was one of the greatest documentaries into a one season retard sitcom.)
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To: dfwgator

24 posted on 01/04/2024 9:12:43 AM PST by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: Red Badger
Already on the map, in the southeast.


25 posted on 01/04/2024 9:13:33 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Drawsing
The sad thing is that some time ago he was convicted of child molestation...in Britain IIRC. Presumably he did some jail time.

Maybe I should have said "before you could say Waltzing Matilda".

26 posted on 01/04/2024 9:20:01 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (Proudly Clinging To My Guns And My Religion)
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To: Red Badger

It’s about as large as a common tarantula in the western USA or even a typical huntsman spider (but a bit thicker); this goes on my “meh” meter as a sensational stupid media piece. Think of all the 1,000s of thousands years the funnel web spider has been around, and just in our short lifetime someone found the “biggest ever”. So stupid…media do it stupid people, by stupid people. I can only hope this story encourages some folks to learn more about spiders, paleontology, history of the earth, etc.


27 posted on 01/04/2024 9:20:20 AM PST by lefty-lie-spy (Stay Metal)
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To: Red Badger
AP needs to do their homework. This spider is 3.1". A male Sydney Funnel-Web spider dubbed "Big Boy" was caught in 2016 that was 4".

Massive funnel-web's spider venom to be milked in Australia
28 posted on 01/04/2024 9:23:26 AM PST by Pythion.net
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To: Red Badger
Then of course there's this big guy:

Meanwhile_In_Australia

29 posted on 01/04/2024 9:27:57 AM PST by SkyDancer (~A Bizjet Is Nothing But An Executive Mailing Tube ~)
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To: Gay State Conservative

The fangs would be pointed the wrong way to go into the shoe sole, not to mention that I’d be wearing some pretty sturdy boots if I were walking around in Australia. No flip-flops or even sneakers.

Nice reference to that old song, BTW. Haven’t heard it in decades; it’s probably too un-PC to play now, what with the line about let me abos go loose, Bruce.


30 posted on 01/04/2024 9:31:10 AM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: SkyDancer

Gonna need a bigger can of RAID!......................


31 posted on 01/04/2024 9:32:58 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while l aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: HartleyMBaldwin
Yah,that's true.The words "they're of no further use,Lou" would be particularly offensive.

true story: years ago I took the Indian Pacific (a very famous long distance train) from Sydney to a town called "Broken Hill"...which is very much in the Outback. It was March (still summer) and it was damn hot.It was there that I learned about the Aussie Salute (look it up.

While there I saw an Aborigine that was so black he was blue. I sear to God...it was amazing!

32 posted on 01/04/2024 9:42:30 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (Proudly Clinging To My Guns And My Religion)
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To: FreedomPoster

LoL. Great map!


33 posted on 01/04/2024 9:44:03 AM PST by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: Ikeon

Likely due to intensive awareness campaigns, rather than an exaggeration of the animal’s lethality.


34 posted on 01/04/2024 10:02:01 AM PST by Little Pig
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To: Red Badger

Australia; still trying to find one damned thing that isn’t venomous there.


35 posted on 01/04/2024 10:02:34 AM PST by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
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To: Red Badger

nope!


36 posted on 01/04/2024 10:05:27 AM PST by MNDude
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To: Gay State Conservative

I’ve always wanted to visit Australia. The Broken Hill deposit is one of the world’s great lead-zinc-silver deposits, which I remember studying back in grad school.

We used a version of the Aussie Salute when I worked in Mexico to try to deal with the flying bugs there. One hand for the job and one to wave in front of your face. Corks on strings, a la the Four Bruces, probably wouldn’t have worked.


37 posted on 01/04/2024 10:05:57 AM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: Red Badger

As scorpio said when he saw Dirty Harry’s 44......”My, that’s a big one”


38 posted on 01/04/2024 10:31:24 AM PST by vespa300
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To: Red Badger

i hate those things


39 posted on 01/04/2024 10:34:33 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: goodnesswins

Everything in Aus tries to kill you.


40 posted on 01/04/2024 10:41:41 AM PST by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
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