Megaspider: Australian Reptile Park Receives 'Gargantuan' Funnel-Web Spider From Mystery Donor

The Australian Reptile Park just received something rather special — the biggest funnel-web spider ever donated to its antivenom program. The creature is so massive for its kind that the park dubbed it "Megaspider."

Funnel-web spiders have an average size of 1 to 5 centimeters, the Australian Reptile Park noted in a press release. However, Megaspider measures 8 centimeters and has fangs that are nearly 2 centimeters. At this size, it could "bite through human fingernail," the park said, adding that it's already comparable to the size of a tarantula.

Megaspider came to the facility through the park's antivenom program, which encourages community members to safely catch and donate funnel-web spiders. These spiders are "milked" for their raw venom, which is then turned into antivenom that saves hundreds of lives each year.

As the Australian Museum noted, funnel-web spiders are "the most notorious" members of the country's spider fauna. Although not all of them are actually dangerous, some produce "highly toxic and fast-acting venom," with the males of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus) being responsible for all of the 13 recorded deaths and many of the "medically serious" bites.

Fortunately, no deaths have been reported ever since the antivenom was developed by Dr. Struan Sutherland and introduced in 1981.

In the case of Megaspider, it was one of the spiders in the weekly collection of donations dropped off at various locations around Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast. The massive funnel-web spider was simply placed in a Tupperware container.

The park shared images of the creature, showing Megaspider next to various items, such as a ruler a coin and a glove. It also shared a video of the massive spider in action.

"Having Megaspider handed into the venom program is so amazing, in my 30+ years at the Park, I have never seen a funnel-web spider this big!" Michael Tate, education officer at the Australian Reptile Park, said in the news release. "She is unusually large and if we can get the public to hand in more spiders like her, it will only result in more lives being saved due to the huge amount of venom they can produce. We are really keen to find out where she came from in hopes to find more MASSIVE spiders like her."

As the only facility in Australia that milks funnel-web spiders to create antivenom, the park is seeking the help of the public to find out where the arachnid might have come from as the container that Megaspider came in was not labeled. If they find more such large spiders, then they could also produce more life-saving treatment.