Australian scientists have discovered a bigger, more venomous species of the Sydney funnel-web spider, one of the world's deadliest. The new funnel-web species has earned the nickname "Big Boy" and was first discovered in the early 2000s near Newcastle,

An international team of scientists has revised the classification of Australia's most famous spider. With a bite more deadly to humans than that of any other spider, the iconic Sydney funnel-web has long been considered a single species,

A larger and more venomous species of one of the world's deadliest spiders has been confirmed by Australian scientists. Nicknamed 'big boy', it can grow up to 9cm (3.54 inches) compared with 5cm (1.97 inches) for the more common Sydney funnel-web.

“The Newcastle funnel-web, Atrax christenseni – ‘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 while the Southern Sydney funnel-web is a resurrected species name from 1914,” Dr Loria said.

There are several genera of funnel web spiders, but the most common ones in Australia are Atrax, Hadronyche, and Illawarra. They vary in size and color, usually black or brown, with shiny carapaces. The males are generally smaller and less robust than the females.

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

There are more than 43,000 species of spider in the world and one of them "can kill a toddler in five minutes".

Scientists from Australia and Germany have classified a new, highly venomous species of spider, Atrax christenseni, known as Big Boy. It is very large and highly venomous, with bites that can be fatal.

A massive new subspecies of Australia's funnel-web spider, the deadliest in the world, has been discovered by scientists in the eastern city of Newcastle.