It is something researchers have suspected for 20 years. Now they know for sure the Newcastle funnel-web is bigger, scarier, and different than the rest.

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,

Scientists in Australia have discovered a ‘giant’ species of Sydney funnel-web spider, one of the world’s deadliest. Nicknamed ‘Big Boy’, the species was originally found by Kane Christensen, a spider enthusiast and ex-head of spiders at the Australian Reptile Park. in the early 2000s near Newcastle, 170 km north of Sydney.

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

A new species of funnel-web spider has been discovered in Newcastle, Australia - even larger and more venomous than common Sydney funnel-web spiders.

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.

Scientists in Australia have discovered a larger, more venomous species of one of the world's deadliest spiders, the Sydney funnel-web spider.

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.