Researchers say they used anatomical and DNA comparisons to study different populations of the Sydney funnel-web spider – one of the world’s deadliest spiders – and found there were three species, only two of which were previously known to science.

Researchers reclassify the infamous Sydney funnel-web spider into three distinct species: Atrax robustus, Atrax montanus, and Atrax christenseni. Led by a team from the Leibniz Institute, the Australian Museum,

The study marks a major shift in understanding the Sydney funnel-web spider, with each newly identified species occupying distinct regions.

Australia's reputation for venomous spiders comes partly from the deadly Sydney funnel-web. It turns out there is not just one species, there are three.

“The Newcastle funnel-web, Atrax christenseni— dubbed Big Boy—is a totally new species. The ‘true’ Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax robustus centres on the North Shore of Sydney and the Central Coast, and the Southern Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax montanus, is a resurrected species name from 1914,” Loria explained.

An international team of scientists has revised the classification of Australia's most famous spider. With a bite more deadly to humans than that of any other spider, the iconic Sydney funnel-web has long been considered a single species,

Researchers have discovered that one of Australia’s largest and deadliest spiders is actually three different species, and one of them […] The post Researchers Have Identified This Australian Spider As Being Bigger And Deadlier Than The Rest appeared first on Chip Chick.