Venomous 'Megaspider' Is One Of The Largest Ever Found In Australia

A gigantic funnel-web spider was captured by an anonymous person in Australia and left at a drop-off site for the Australian Reptile Park. The park collects spiders so their venom can be harvested to produce antivenom.

Officials said that the newest addition, nicknamed "Megaspider," was the biggest they have ever seen, with a body measuring nearly two inches. The spider has fangs that are 0.8 inches long and are capable of piercing a human fingernail.

The park is asking the public to help them locate other giant spiders due to the large amount of venom they are capable of producing.

"Having MEGASPIDER handed into the venom program is so amazing, in my 30+ years at the Park, I have never seen a funnel-web spider this big," Michael Tate, Education Officer of the Australian Reptile Park, said in a press release. "She is unusually large and if we can get the public to hand in more spiders like her, it will only result in more lives being saved due to the huge amount of venom they can produce. We are really keen to find out where she came from in hopes to find more MASSIVE spiders like her."

The park is the only facility in Australia that collects the venom, which is then sent to a lab in Melbourne, where it is made into life-saving antivenom. The antivenom program, which was started in the 1950s, is credited with saving hundreds of lives every year.