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

By Shreya Dasgupta The Sydney funnel-web spider, a highly venomous arachnid found crawling in and around Australia’s most populous city, was long thought to be a single species. But it’s actually three different species,

The deadly 3.54-inch-long spider Atrax christenseni is among the most dangerously venomous spiders for humans. “When I felt my body weakening and my brain fogging, I tried to rest and recuperate but, finally, it all caught up to me.”

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.

Australian scientists have discovered a bigger, more venomous species of the Sydney funnel-web spider, one of the world's deadliest.

“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.