Characteristics of funnel webs
What is special about a funnel-web spider?
The Sydney funnel-web spider is one of the most venomous (to humans) spiders in Australia, and second most venomous in the world. Unlike many other spiders where the most toxic venom lies within the female, the male holds venom up to six times more toxic.
What is the classification of a funnel-web spider?
Arachnida is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals, in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroons.
What is a funnel-web spider look like?
Sydney Funnel-webs are shiny, dark brown to black spiders with finger-like spinnerets (silk-spinning organs) at the end of their abdomen. Males have a large mating spur projecting from the middle of their second pair of legs.
Are all funnel-web spiders poisonous?
All funnel-web spider bites should be treated as potentially life-threatening, even though only approximately 10% to 15% of bites are venomous. Since the venom from the funnel-web spider bite is highly toxic, all species should be considered potentially dangerous.
Are funnel-webs aggressive?
The Sydney Funnel Web Spider is not aggressive by nature, but will show aggression if threatened. Sydney Funnel Web Spiders reside in moist (sandy clay, shale or basaltic soils) sheltered burrows in the ground, under rocks or logs, or in stumps, and tree trunks.
Can funnel-webs jump?
Funnel-webs cannot jump or leap and cannot climb smooth vertical surfaces but they can and climb rough walls or wood. Funnel-webs are remarkable in some aspect of their venom and its delivery.
What happens if a funnel web bites you?
​Funnel web spider
In some rare, extreme cases the bite can be fatal. Symptoms of funnel web spider bite include tingling sensations around the lips, sweating, nausea, vomiting, headache and high blood pressure and, in serious cases, fluid in the lungs and unconsciousness.
What is the deadliest spider?
Sydney funnel-web spider
Sydney funnel-web spider. According to the Guinness World Records, the Sydney funnel-web spider, Atrax robustus, is the most dangerous spider to humans in the world. Native to Australia, this poisonous spider is found in moist habitats such as under logs or in gardens.
Are cats immune to funnel web spiders?
“Animals such as cats and dogs can survive a funnel web bite quite easily, their body neutralises the toxin in about half an hour,” Robert explains. And birds are no exception.
What eats funnel web spiders?
This puts male funnel web spiders in the path of vertebrate predators. These can include reptiles (such as lizards or geckos), marsupials (such as antechinus and dunnarts), mammals (such as rats) and birds.
Can funnel web spiders bite through shoes?
“The venom of the Australian funnel-web spider can kill a person in less than an hour, and its fangs can bite right through a shoe,” Discover magazine reports.
Where do funnel-webs live?
Funnel-webs burrow in moist, cool, sheltered habitats – under rocks, in and under rotting logs, crevices, rot and borer holes in rough-barked trees. In gardens, they prefer rockeries and dense shrubberies, and are rarely found in more open situations like lawns.
How long do funnel spiders live?
Like most species of spiders, funnel weavers are nocturnal. They are known to flee from light and “many are very fast runners,” Bills said. According to BioKids, they typically live for less than a year, dying in the cold weather. In warmer places, they can live for two years.
How big can funnel-webs get?
Funnel Web Spiders are medium to large in size, with a body length ranging from 1 centimetres to 5 centimetres (0.4 inches to 2 inches). Funnel Web Spiders are dark in color, ranging from black to brown, with a shiny head and thorax.
Do female Funnel-Webs eat men?
In some species females have the option of eating males after mating, whereas in others the males have evolved ways of escaping. (Male funnel-web spiders, for example, use pheromones to knock females unconscious before mating.)