Wildlife experts Down Under are likely thrilled at their latest acquisition from a scientific standpoint, but mostly everyone else is keeping a healthy distance. The Australian Reptile Park in Somersby now has among its ranks the largest male specimen of the world's most venomous arachnid, a Sydney funnel-web spider coming in at a length of 3.11 inches, which USA Today notes is bigger than a baseball. Named Hercules, the spider was found by a regular person, not a scientist, about 50 miles north of Sydney in Australia's Central Coast, and was initially dropped off at a hospital, per the AP. Experts also thought the spider was female at first, as the females of this species are typically larger than the males, though not as deadly.
"But upon closer inspection, he is definitely a male and has some the biggest fangs I've ever seen," Emma Teni, who works with spiders at the park, tells USA Today. She adds that the gargantuan creature, which 9News calls "nightmare fuel," may have been able to get so big if he lived in a safe place with plenty of food, allowing him to live longer and bulk up over time, per the Sydney Morning Herald. "It is unreal to see him," she notes. "You can see so much of his anatomy. With normal ... [funnel-webs], you have to look closely, but with him, everything is so easy to see."
Australians should revere Hercules more than fear him, however, as his presence is going to potentially be lifesaving. Although incredibly toxic, the funnel-web spider's venom is also the key to making antivenom—and Hercules' stores will now be plumbed for that purpose via the park's antivenom program. "Hercules is absolutely huge, as is his venom yield," Temi tells USA Today. "The person who contributed this spider is helping us save lives." The AP notes that since that program began in 1981, no one has died in Australia from a funnel-web spider bite. More here on the intricate venom-collecting process. (More spiders stories.)
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