Australian Scientists Discover Bigger Species of Deadly Funnel Web Spiders

A new species of Funnel Web Spider named Atrax christenseni and nicknamed 'Big Boy' is pictured next to the Sydney Funnel Web Spider in a container at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Stefica Nicol Bikes
A new species of Funnel Web Spider named Atrax christenseni and nicknamed 'Big Boy' is pictured next to the Sydney Funnel Web Spider in a container at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Stefica Nicol Bikes
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Australian Scientists Discover Bigger Species of Deadly Funnel Web Spiders

A new species of Funnel Web Spider named Atrax christenseni and nicknamed 'Big Boy' is pictured next to the Sydney Funnel Web Spider in a container at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Stefica Nicol Bikes
A new species of Funnel Web Spider named Atrax christenseni and nicknamed 'Big Boy' is pictured next to the Sydney Funnel Web Spider in a container at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Stefica Nicol Bikes

Australian scientists have discovered a bigger, more venomous species of the Sydney funnel-web spider, one of the world's deadliest.
The new funnel-web species has earned the nickname "Big Boy" and was first discovered in the early 2000s near Newcastle, 170 km (105 miles) north of Sydney, by Kane Christensen, a spider enthusiast and former head of spiders at the Australian Reptile Park.
"This particular spider is a lot larger, its venom glands are a lot larger and its fangs are a lot longer," Reuters quoted him as saying.
In research released on Monday, scientists from the Australian Museum, Flinders University and Germany's Leibniz Institute said the "Big Boy" would be classified as a separate species of funnel-web spider.
Scientists have named the 9-centimeter (3.54 inches) long species as Atrax christenseni, after Christensen's contributions to the research. The more common Sydney funnel-webs can grow up to 5 cm.
The nocturnal black arachnids are usually spotted within around 150 km (93 miles) of Sydney, Australia's largest city, and are mostly active between November and April.
Only the male Sydney funnel-web, which carries a much stronger venom, is responsible for human deaths. A total of 13 deaths have been recorded though no human fatalities have occurred since the development of antivenom in the 1980s, according to the Australian Museum.
The same antivenom is effective in treating bites from "Big Boy,” scientists said.
"Sometimes you might find them in a garage or in a bedroom or somewhere in the house where they might have wandered in during the night," Christensen said of the new species.
"I would not recommend touching them that's for sure, they do give copious amounts of venom."



Funny Old World: The Week's Offbeat News

Lapdog Lassie: the chihuahua that helped rescuers find its master in the Swiss Alps. HANDOUT / Air Zermatt/AFP
Lapdog Lassie: the chihuahua that helped rescuers find its master in the Swiss Alps. HANDOUT / Air Zermatt/AFP
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Funny Old World: The Week's Offbeat News

Lapdog Lassie: the chihuahua that helped rescuers find its master in the Swiss Alps. HANDOUT / Air Zermatt/AFP
Lapdog Lassie: the chihuahua that helped rescuers find its master in the Swiss Alps. HANDOUT / Air Zermatt/AFP

From a hero lapdog Lassie to why tennis stars can't stop pinching Wimbledon towels. Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

Chihuahua to the rescue

A chihuahua saved a hiker who fell eight meters (26 feet) into a glacier crevasse high in the Swiss Alps.

The lapdog's "extraordinary" heroics surely saved his master, the Air Zermatt rescue service said, refusing to leave the spot where the man disappeared into the crevasse, leading rescuers straight to him, AFP said.

While the man was able to call for help with a walkie-talkie, rescuers struggled to locate him.

"The glacier surface was wide and the hole was barely visible," they said.

But then they spotted the tiny shivering Chihuahua perched on a rock, refusing to budge.

"Thanks to the dog's behavior, the crew was able to abseil down to the casualty and save him."

Doggone luxury

In the past, stricken alpinists could count on a sup of warming brandy from a St. Bernard dog. But these days, the gentle giants are more likely to be getting a massage, a manicure or a spot of hydrotherapy at the new Barryland theme park over the mountains at Martigny, where Switzerland's national dog is a major tourist attraction.

Helicopters have now taken over their mountain rescue role, allowing the St. Bernards to enjoy their retirement as pampered pensioners or care dogs.

Leaping mad

This involves crossing canals by clambering up a 12-meter (40-foot) pole -- roughly the height of a four-storey building -- so you can land (or be catapulted) to the other side. The uniquely Dutch sport combines pole-vaulting, long jump and, when misjudged, some unplanned swimming in the soup.

Farmer and fierljeppen world record holder Jacob de Groot told AFP that the sport may not have caught on elsewhere because "in the rest of the world there are not so many canals and also maybe the people are not so crazy".

Centre Court steal

Polish tennis ace Iga Swiatek powered through the women's singles at Wimbledon, bagging as many of the tournament's trademark towels as she could carry.

"No one talks about it, but we love your towels," she admitted after dispatching Russian Polina Kudermetova on Monday.

"Every time I come back 10 members of my family want the towels. Sorry Wimbledon, I am not sure if I'm allowed."

But the 24-year-old makes sure to keep some for herself. "I have lots at home. If I play on the circuit for another 15 years, I will have to build another room to keep them in," she laughed.