Description
Sydney funnel-webs are medium to large in size, with body length ranging from 1 to 5 cm (0.39 to 2.0 in). They are glossy and darkly coloured, ranging from blue-black, to black, to brown or dark-plum coloured. The carapace covering the cephalothorax is almost hairless and appears smooth and glossy. Another characteristic are finger-like spinnerets at the end of their abdomen. The shorter-lived males are smaller than females but longer legged.
Atrax robustus is one of three species of the genus Atrax in the family Hexathelidae, the other two being Atrax sutherlandi and Atrax yorkmainorum. The Sydney funnel-web spider shares its name with some members of the genus Hadronyche. However, it remains, together with the northern tree funnel-web, the only Australian funnel-web spider known to have inflicted fatal bites to humans.
Read more about this topic: Sydney Funnel-web Spider
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