Researchers say they used anatomical and DNA comparisons to study different populations of the Sydney funnel-web spider – one of the world’s deadliest spiders – and found there were three species, only two of which were previously known to science.

“The Newcastle funnel-web, Atrax christenseni— dubbed Big Boy—is a totally new species. The ‘true’ Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax robustus centres on the North Shore of Sydney and the Central Coast, and the Southern Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax montanus, is a resurrected species name from 1914,” Loria explained.

Australian scientists have discovered a bigger, more venomous species of the Sydney funnel-web spider, one of the world's deadliest.

The first person to discover the Aussie spider, Kane Christensen, has warned people not to approach it, citing its massive fangs and glands that produce 'copious amounts of venom'

Researchers have discovered that one of Australia’s largest and deadliest spiders is actually three different species, and one of them […] The post Researchers Have Identified This Australian Spider As Being Bigger And Deadlier Than The Rest appeared first on Chip Chick.

The study marks a major shift in understanding the Sydney funnel-web spider, with each newly identified species occupying distinct regions.