Bigger, more venomous species of deadly spider discovered
If you aren't a fan of our eight-legged friends, then this story probably won't fill you with joy.The Sydney funnel-web spider is one of the most deadly species of spider in the world.Now scientists in Australia have discovered a new funnel-web spider which is even bigger and more venomous.Kane Christensen is behind the discovery and says "its venom glands are a lot larger and its fangs are a lot longer".
The new species has been named Atrax christenseni after the man that discovered it.But it has been nicknamed "big boy" due how much larger it is than the Sydney species.It is around nine centimetres in length, the Sydney species is a lot more common and can grow up to five centimetres.Scientists from the Australian Museum, Flinders University and Germany's Leibniz Institute released research saying it would be classed as a separate species of funnel-web spider.
The Sydney-funnel web species are usually found within 93 miles (150km) of Sydney and are mostly active between November and April.The "big boy" species was first discovered in the early 2000s near Newcastle, which is around 105 miles (170km) north of Sydney. Christensen says people can find them in their garage or in their bedrooms if they come in at night and says he "would not recommend touching them".Don't worry though, the same antivenom used for the Sydney species can still be used in treating bites from the new species according to scientists.
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