"If you are bitten by a funnel-web spider, call an ambulance and go straight to hospital," researcher Geoff Isbister said.

The Sydney funnel-web spider has extremely dangerous venom, but according to a new study this spider is actually three different species — one of which, the "Newcastle big boy," is much larger.

The Latin name for the Big Boy species is derived from the Newcastle spider enthusiast Kane Christensen, who brought it to the attention of the research team. The study was launched after Mr ...

The 'classic' Sydney funnel-web spider on the (left) and newly-identified Newcastle funnel-web variant 'Big Boy'. Picture: Kane Christensen In early January the Park received a spider named ...

"This particular spider is much larger, its venom glands are much larger, and its fangs are much longer," Christensen said, ...