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Alexander Dudley | all galleries >> Australian Invertebrates >> Australian Spiders > Funnelweb Spider
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29-OCT-2004 Alexander Dudley

Funnelweb Spider

West of Wollongong, NSW Australia

Funnelwebs are one of the most feared spiders in the world, and given the toxicity of the venom and their apparent aggression,
there is probably good reason for this. Most bites are from male spiders as it is the males that go off looking for a mate while
the females live a sedentary existance in a silk-lined burrow beneath a log or a rock. Male funnelwebs are most active at night
after rain, and because they are easy prey for birds and lizards, tend to take shelter before dawn. If this is amongst a piece of
clothing or footware left on the floor, the chances of an incident are increased. This is of course very dangerous for the spider,
who is far more likely to be killed in the encounter than the person.

FujiFilm FinePix S2 Pro ,Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro
1/125s f/19.0 at 59.0mm iso100, Metz 20 BC6 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time29-Oct-2004 13:08:48
MakeFujiFilm
ModelFinePix S2Pro
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length59 mm
Exposure Time1/125 sec
Aperturef/19
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.50
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programmanual (1)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Guest 18-Apr-2006 13:32
YIKES... Get me outa here.

A very convining arguement for houses on stilts. We used to pull these cranky buggers from the bottom of our pool as kids. They were doing a slow drown, maybe annoyed that all the girl funnelwebs were so cranky too. A few seconds of us huffing and puffing on them and they would fire into life and try to kill us, just for saving their lives. They have no charm.
Then years later I kept one as a pet. He got sent away after a drunken friend tried to set him free in the night, in my bedroom.
I recently read a detailed account of a bite 'suffered' by a chap called Gordon Wheatley. Hopefully this link stays good for those interested...http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/a-deadly-business/2006/03/31/1143441337725.html

R.I.P. little James Culley who died at 2 years of age in 1980. James was the last Aussie to die froma Funnelweb and I remember it well. I was 10 years old and my dad was going bannans at me for playing with them just after it happened.

Thanks for the photo Alexander, if they gave out design awards for animals these guys would clean up. Yikes...!
Ulla Kruys16-Mar-2006 15:16
Wow fantastic. Have a look at my little one we found in the Blue Mountains.