Jervis Bay funnel-web surprises scientists »

Scientists studying funnel-web spiders at Booderee National Park near Jervis Bay on the New South Wales south coast have found a large example of an unexpected funnel-web species. The scientists believe the 50-millimetre spider is a species of the tree-dwelling genus Hadronyche, not the ground-dwelling genus Atrax, which includes the Sydney funnel-web, the only species reported in the Park's records. "It's remarkable that we have found this other species in Booderee National Park," said Dr Thomas Wallenius, from The Australian National University (ANU). "It shows we still have a lot to learn about what's out there in the bush. "It may even turn out to be a new species of funnel-web," said Dr Wallenius, a biologist in ANU Research School of Biology. There have been 13 recorded deaths from funnel-web bites, and none since an antivenom was developed in 1981. The development of an antivenom was prompted when scientist Struan Sutherland heard of the death of a seven-year-old girl who was bitten by funnel-web near Jervis Bay.
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