Dream come true for Australian funnel-web spider enthusiast after he discovers a new species
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Newcastle funnel-web spider’s last shared common ancestor with the Sydney funnel-web was 17 million years ago, experts say. Kane Christensen’s passion is an arachnophobe’s nightmare. For two decades, he worked with deadly spiders at the Australian Reptile Park, a zoo located 80km north of Sydney – paying such close attention to the eight-legged predators that he helped scientists discover two new species.
![[A male atrax christenseni funnel-web spider.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/623b03c583fa8183b9839e544409ba9fc48a0ae1/0_0_4032_3024/master/4032.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
He began there as a volunteer in 2003, milking venom from the fangs of Sydney funnel-web spiders. The park takes donations of captured male spiders from the public, using their venom to create life-saving antivenom. “Funnel-webs for me are just the pinnacle,” Christensen says.
Australian funnel-web spiders are a family of glossy, dark arachnids. Several species contain venom that can cause serious damage to humans; though it isn’t the most venomous species, the Sydney funnel-web is thought to be responsible for the most deaths, with at least 13 recorded victims.
Almost immediately, Christensen began noticing that some of the Sydney funnel-webs being brought to the park – particularly those originating from farther north, around the coastal city of Newcastle – were much larger than others, with distinct differences in the appearance of their genital bulbs.
Intrigued, Christensen reached out to scientists at the Australian Museum. His hunch turned out to be correct: the “big boys” from Newcastle weren’t Sydney funnel-webs, Atrax robustus, but a new species entirely. This week, in a dream outcome for the self-professed spider-lover, the Newcastle funnel-web was officially named after Christensen: Atrax christenseni.
