The Australian Reptile Park has the biggest funnel-web spider that the keepers had ever seen because of their venom program (for making anti-venom). Funnel-web spiders are typically half the Megaspider's size.
00:00 what has eight legs and fangs powerful enough to puncture a human fingernail.
00:05 Meet Megaspider, a massive funnel-web spider that was recently captured in Australia.
00:12 We've had the largest funnel-web we've ever seen handed in. This spider is quite a bit larger than typical.
00:18 Zookeepers at the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales were astonished by the spider's enormous size.
00:25 It measured just over three inches from foot to foot.
00:28 Most funnel-web spiders range from under one inch to no more than two inches wide.
00:33 Funnel-web spiders live in eastern Australia.
00:36 There are more than 40 species in the group and some species deliver a bite so toxic that it can kill an adult human within
00:44 15 minutes.
00:45 Even a normal-sized funnel-web has extremely large fangs, but on this Megaspider,
00:50 the fangs are almost two centimeters long, which is longer than a Taipan fang, and that's capable of puncturing a human fingernail.
00:57 But the toxic cocktail in these spiders' bites can also save lives.
01:01 The Australian Reptile Park hosts a special program that milks the spiders for their venom,
01:06 which is then sent to a lab to be processed into anti-venom for treating victims of spider bites.
01:12 Here at the Reptile Park,
01:13 we are very reliant on public donations of the funnel-web spiders to keep our venom program running and keep us saving lives.
01:20 Because this Megaspider is a female, she won't be milked.
01:24 We only milk the male funnel-webs here at the Australian Reptile Park, and we are the sole supplier of funnel-web spider venom for the production of
01:31 anti-venom. With summer just around the corner and funnel-web spiders becoming more and more active,
01:36 we are asking the public to continue to contribute to our venom program through the funnel-web spider donations.
01:42 To make sure the park has a steady supply of venom for the life-saving antidote, keepers collect spider donations from the public,
01:49 picking up captured funnel-web spiders from drop-off sites in eastern Australia.
01:54 But whoever captured Megaspider didn't label the container.
01:58 And we'd really quite like to know, we're very interested. So if you do know this spider and the container, please reach out.
