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Riddle of the St. Andrew's Cross Queen of Spinners |
The Funnel-Web SpiderThe most dangerous of all our spiders are unquestionably those included in the genus Atrax, the funnel-web spiders. Although eight species have been re-corded from the Australian mainland and Tasmania, two only have been re ported as dangerous to man. They should all be regarded as potentially dangerous and treated with caution. The clean record of the majority of species is more likely due to the fact that their haunts lie far from man's activities and habitations rather than to any lack of potency in their venom. These large spiders are essentially ground-dwellers, but one at least, the immense tree-dwelling funnel-web (Atrax formidabilis) — sometimes called the North Coast funnel-web spider—makes its home in cavities in the limbs and trunks of trees in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. Tree-frogs form a large part of its diet, large examples falling victims to its potent venom. The best known species is unquestionably the deadly funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus), found in the vicinity of Sydney, the nefarious activities of which receive sensational publicity in the Press. This spider is dealt with in the concluding section dealing with dangerous species. The details given there may be taken as largely typical of the members of the genus as a whole. In considering those species whose bite is definitely injurious and may prove fatal to man, it must be remembered that all spiders possess fangs which are connected with poison-glands and which are employed for killing their prey and for defence against enemies. With the majority of our spiders the fangs are too weak or too short to penetrate human skin, or the venom insufficient in quantity or potency to produce effects more painful than the sting of a bee or ant. A number of records of bites by these spiders are available, but they serve only to support the contention that a very small section of our spiders can be classed as dangerous, or are to be feared. The effect of the bite of one of the venomous species may be minimised when inflicted through clothing, which absorbs part of the poison.
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