Record-breaking Sydney funnel-web spider dubbed ‘Hemsworth’ to be milked for venom
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Step aside, Colossus. Be gone, Hercules. The Australian Reptile Park has recorded its largest male specimen so far. First there was Colossus, then Hercules … now, Thor. Among the Australian Reptile Park’s tributes to the gods, one is newly pre-eminent, bearing the title of “Hemsworth”.
![[Funnel-web spider with venom on its fangs]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f625dce7b3092d80027351b84f34561e4e14cd8d/0_0_1033_1531/master/1033.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Hemsworth – named for the Australian actor (Chris) who plays Thor in the Marvel Universe and his brothers, Luke and Liam – is believed to be the largest male funnel-web spider ever recorded: 9.2cm foot-to-foot. “This spider was just so big in comparison to his peers it reminded me of Chris Hemsworth and his brothers, and how they tower over the average person,” spider keeper Emma Teni said in a statement shared by the park..”.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. Hemsworth surpassed his predecessors, named Hercules (7.9cm), and Colossus (7.8cm). They are all unusually large: a typical male funnel-web spider measures between 1cm and 5cm. (Females are generally larger than their male counterparts but not as deadly.).
Hemsworth was captured near Newcastle, north of Sydney, and handed in at one of the park’s spider drop-off centres. The arachnid was “the biggest spider we’ve ever received at the Australian reptile park,” Teni said in a video posted to Instagram.
“We thought for sure he had to be a female because of his size, but upon closer inspection, he’s a boy. “This means Hemsworth is going to be able to join our lifesaving anti-venom program, we can only milk the male funnel web spiders because of the presence of the atracotoxin in their venom.”.
