The largest male of one of the world's most poisonous spiders found in Australia: It will help with the vaccine. Photo
The largest male Sydney funnel-web spider known to mankind was caught near Sydney, Australia. It is one of the most venomous spider species in the world. The size of the "find" is equal to a human palm.
He was named Hercules and taken to the Australian Reptile Park. The statement says that the spider will now serve science, namely, it will give doctors access to the venom that will be used to save victims of its congeners' bites.
Hercules has 7.9-centimetre legs. He has surpassed the record of the Colossus spider, which lives in the park and was considered the largest male of this species until now.
Commenting on the event, one of the park's spider keepers, Emma Tenney, compared the new resident to a "jackpot".
"We're used to getting quite large funnel-web spiders, but to get a male that big is like hitting the jackpot. Although female funnel-web spiders are poisonous, the males turned out to be more deadly," she explained.
The funnel-web spider was found about 50 miles north of Sydney. It is one of the most aggressive and dangerous representatives of arthropods. These spiders move quickly, and their venom lasts for several hours.
Fortunately, scientists already have a vaccine that is produced by extracting the venom. For this purpose, Australia takes care of spiders and creates a vital antidote with their help.