Researchers have discovered that one of Australia’s largest and deadliest spiders is actually three different species, and one of them […] The post Researchers Have Identified This Australian Spider As Being Bigger And Deadlier Than The Rest appeared first on Chip Chick.

Australia's reputation for venomous spiders comes partly from the deadly Sydney funnel-web. It turns out there is not just one species, there are three.

Recently a new species of spider was discovered in Australia. This new funnel webbed species is nicknamed 'Big Boy' because of its size, and was discovered by Kane Christensen - a spider enthusiast and former head of spiders at the Australian Reptile Park.

“The Newcastle funnel-web, Atrax christenseni— dubbed Big Boy—is a totally new species. The ‘true’ Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax robustus centres on the North Shore of Sydney and the Central Coast, and the Southern Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax montanus, is a resurrected species name from 1914,” Loria explained.

There are several genera of funnel web spiders, but the most common ones in Australia are Atrax, Hadronyche, and Illawarra. They vary in size and color, usually black or brown, with shiny carapaces. The males are generally smaller and less robust than the females.

The Sydney funnel-web spider has extremely dangerous venom, but according to a new study this spider is actually three different species — one of which, the "Newcastle big boy," is much larger.