Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
LiveScience
LiveScience
Sascha Pare

Giant funnel-web spider with fangs so big it could bite through a human fingernail arrives at Australian zoo

A zoo keeper holding a plastic container with a big male funnel-web spider. To the right is an image of the spider with a silver coin for scale.

The biggest male funnel-web spider ever recorded — a deadly behemoth measuring 3.6 inches (9.2 centimeters) from foot to foot — has been handed into a zoo in Australia. The spider is so large, its fangs could pierce and deliver their lethal venom through a human fingernail, zoo keepers said.

Sydney funnel-web spiders (Atrax robustus) are some of the most venomous spiders in the world. If untreated, a single bite can kill a small child within 15 minutes and an adult within three days.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.