Lethal monstrous spider ‘Herculese’ breaks record for largest specimen

World’s most poisonous arachnid ‘Herculese’ has broken record for the largest male specimen of the spider found by a member of the public in Australia. The deadliest funnel-web spider was recovered on the Central Coast, approximately 50 miles north of Sydney. It was initially handed to a hospital and is now at the Australian Reptile Park where it assists in saving lives. The spider will contribute towards the park’s anti-venom programme.

Authorities say that the eight-legged creature has the largest fangs for a spider that could pierce an entire human fingernail. The spider has surpassed the record of the previous creature discovered in 2018, known as the funnel-web named Colossus, measuring whopping 7.9cm (3.1 inches) from foot to foot. Herculese is much larger and lethal than other funnel web that measure generally between one to five centimetres. While the female spiders are larger than males, they are not known to be deadlier.

‘Male funnel-web this big is like hitting the jackpot’

Funnel webs are usually found in thick forested areas or the suburban gardens in Australian Capital of Sydney, as well as the coastal city of Newcastle and Blue mountains. “We’re used to having pretty big funnel-web spiders donated to the park, however receiving a male funnel-web this big is like hitting the jackpot,” Emma Teni, a spider keeper at Australian Reptile Park was quoted as saying. She continued that while the female funnel-web spiders are venomous, “males have proven to be more lethal.”

According to the Australian museum, there are at least 36 known species of Australian funnel-web spiders. They are basically three genera: Hadronyche, Atrax and Illawarra. The size of the spiders varies from cm-5 cm body length, and range from medium to large. Their bodies are sparsely haired and glossy, whilst being lit weighted. Not all the species of the funnel web spiders are particularly lethal or dangerous.

The spiders are not fatal owing to the safety measures in place since the start of the programme at the part in 1981. No fatality has either been reported in Australia from a funnel-web spider bite, according to the Sydney based reports. The humid and rainy weather is ideal for the breeding of the funnel web spiders.