Weird NewsAustraliazoospiders

Australian Zoo Gets 'Megaspider' Capable Of Piercing Human Fingernails

Officials plan to milk the massive funnel-web spider for venom and send it to a pharmaceutical company that can turn it into antivenom.
Open Image Modal
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

An Australian zoo has a new addition that’s getting mega-attention: a “megaspider” that measures three inches from foot to foot, with fangs that are nearly an inch long.

Officials at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, New South Wales, say the arachnid is the largest funnel-web spider the park has ever seen. Its jaws are reportedly so strong they can pierce human fingernails.

An anonymous donor apparently gifted the spider to the park, where it is now being used in an antivenom program. Officials say they hope the donor comes forward and helps lead them to other large spiders.

“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,” Michael Tate, the park’s education officer, told CNN.

“We are really keen to find out where she came from in hopes to find more MASSIVE spiders like her.”

The park said it will “milk” the spider’s venom and send it to a pharmaceutical company in Melbourne that will turn it into antivenom.

The park estimates that its antivenom program saves up to 300 lives per year.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

The Coolest Insects EVER
Blue damselfly(01 of11)
Open Image Modal
A blue damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) rests on a reed at the edge of a small lake near Briesen, Germany, on May 13, 2012. Dragonflies are amongst the oldest flying insects with around 5,000 known species worldwide. (credit:PATRICK PLEUL/AFP/Getty Images)
Ladybug(02 of11)
Open Image Modal
A Coccinellidae, more commonly known as a ladybug or ladybird beetle, rests on the petals of a rose in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, May 26, 2010. The name "ladybird" originated in the Middle Ages when the insects were known as the "beetle of Our Lady". (credit:AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Dragonfly(03 of11)
Open Image Modal
A dragonfly is pictured at a garden in Kathmandu on June 27, 2012. (credit:PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/GettyImages)
Ladybugs(04 of11)
Open Image Modal
After emerging from winter hibernation, hundreds of ladybird beetles, often called ladybugs, cluster in the leaves under a shrub on the South Hill in Spokane, Wash. on Sunday, March 31, 2013. The ladybird beetle (Hippodamia convergens) is a gardener's best friend, eating perhaps its weight in aphids daily. Strict carnivores, they eat no leafy vegetation. (credit:AP/The Spokesman-Review, Colin Mulvany)
Dragonfly(05 of11)
Open Image Modal
A dragonfly rests in a garden in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, July 11, 2013. (credit:AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Northern mole cricket(06 of11)
Open Image Modal
In this Sept. 24, 2012 photo, Zack Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium, shows a Northern mole cricket he found as he collects bugs for their exhibits in Des Allemands, La. (credit:AP Photo/Kerry Maloney)
Beetle(07 of11)
Open Image Modal
A beetle sits on a wild daisy at Thurrock Thameside Nature Park on June 6, 2013, in Thurrock, England. The 120 acres of grass, bramble and shrub that make up the park sit on top of what was Europe's largest landfill site overlooking the Essex coastline in the Thames Estuary. (credit:Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Bumblebee(08 of11)
Open Image Modal
A bumblebee gathers pollen on a flower on July 13, 2013 in the suburbs of Paris. (credit:JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images)
Cicada(09 of11)
Open Image Modal
A cicada, a symbol of France's south-eastern area of Provence, is pictured on a tree on July 22, 2013 in Marseille. (credit:BORIS HORVAT/AFP/Getty Images)
Coneheaded katydid(10 of11)
Open Image Modal
In this Monday, Sept. 24, 2012 photo, a Coneheaded katydid bites on the finger of Zack Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium, as he and other employees collect bugs for their exhibits in Des Allemands, La. Some of the bugs are raised to exhibit later at the insectarium, while others are shipped to museums. (credit:(AP Photo/Kerry Maloney))
Kissing Bug(11 of11)
Open Image Modal
Kissing Bug (Triatoma sanguisuga), drawing, graphic element on white (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip