Dream come true for Australian funnel-web spider enthusiast after he discovers a new species

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.

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.

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