Experts warn of surge in funnel-web spiders following heavy rain
A massive funnel-web spider with fangs that could puncture a fingernail
has been reported amid a creepy-crawly surge.
Recent rainy weather combined with intensely humid weather has provided the perfect conditions for funnel web spiders to thrive.
The Australian Reptile Park has captured its largest funnel-web spider with huge fangs capable of puncturing a fingernail.
The beast, dubbed by staff as a “megaspider”, has fangs almost 2cm long and was reported amid a surge in the number of creepy-crawlies thriving in wet and humid conditions in NSW.
Keeper Jake Meney said the heavy rain on the east coast had led to an “influx” of the creatures, which he warned were “very active”.
“This female funnel-web spider is over 8cm in length and the average funnel-webs are typically less than five, so this spider is quite a bit larger than typical,” he said.
“Even a normal-sized funnel-web has extremely large fangs, but on this megaspider, the fangs are almost 2cm long, which is longer than a taipan fang, and that's capable of puncturing a human fingernail.”
