They say good things come in threes—but is that true even for the most venomous spider in the world?
Scientists in Germany and Australia have reclassified one of the world’s most infamous arachnids. In their research, detailed in a January 13 study published in the journal BMC Ecology and Evolution, the researchers suggest that the giant, fanged, and hairy Sydney funnel-web spider in Australia is actually three different giant, fanged, and hairy spider species.
“When our international team of researchers ‘reopened the case’ on the Sydney funnel-web, we looked at fine morphological details and gene sequences across the region and found the species split into three distinct groups,” said Helen Smith of the Australian Museum, who participated in the study, in a Flinders University statement.
“Our research uncovered hidden diversity among funnel-web spiders,” added Stephanie Loria from the Leibniz Institute, who led the study.
The arachnologists began conducting anatomical and genetic comparisons after discovering that unusually large male funnel-web spiders from Newcastle had arrived at the Australian Reptile Park’s venom program. The investigation included collecting more funnel-webs specimens from the Sydney region and comparing them to century-old specimens from the Australian Museum collections.
The team concluded that the Sydney funnel-web spider, which was previously known to have varying characteristics, is actually comprised of three different species. Loria and her colleagues reclassified them as the “classic” Sydney funnel-web (Atrax robustus), from the Central Coast and Sydney Basin; the Southern Sydney funnel-web (Atrax montanus), mostly from the Blue Mountains south and west of Sydney; and the Newcastle funnel-web (Atrax christenseni), near the city north of Sydney of the same name.
As luck would have it for Newcastlers, the Newcastle funnel-web was nicknamed “Big Boy” since it is the largest of the three species.
“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.
“Spiders are older than the dinosaurs. In more than 300 million years of existence, they’ve mastered nearly every environment on Earth and play a vital role across global ecosystems. And they are astonishingly diverse—there are about 52,500 known living spider species, and potentially many more to discover,” said Kris Helgen, Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, who was not involved in the study.
The discovery of new species could have practical consequences for the study of spider venom and the production of antivenom, the researchers added. All that’s left to say is that we now know which spider species must have inspired Harry Potter’s giant human-eating Aragog.