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Mutant red funnel web spider found in Australia. Bonus: Spider crawls out of banana

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LeonSPBR

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Goddamn that's terrifying.
 

inki

Member

Aren't those fangs like over an inch long and can pierce through your boot AND toe nail?

Australia scares me because of all the things that can kill you, yes I understand as long as your careful you should be ok but I'm not used to that kind of danger.
I guess people could be scared of the predators/dangers of where I grew up if they weren't born there. (Northern Minnesota - Wolves, Mountain Lions and Bears - Yes I've seen Bears and Wolves in the wild).
 

Maximo

Member
Aren't those fangs like over an inch long and can pierce through your boot AND toe nail?

Australia scares me because of all the things that can kill you, yes I understand as long as your careful you should be ok but I'm not used to that kind of danger.
I guess people could be scared of the predators/dangers of where I grew up if they weren't born there. (Northern Minnesota - Wolves, Mountain Lions and Bears - Yes I've seen Bears and Wolves in the wild).

Long as you don't stick your hands under any rocks your pretty good.
 

elfinke

Member
Long as you don't stick your hands under any rocks your pretty good.

I came across a a number of Red Backs just this last weekend, but all in expected - if annoying - places:

  1. Under the edging of the garden I was pulling apart
  2. In/under/on the ladder I pulled from behind the shed
They were very healthy looking Red Backs and I didn't feel a smidge of guilt for upsetting their days. It's very rare that I can spend any amount of time in the yard and not come across Red Backs.
 
This is like a dude with an AR jumping out at me and me being like "I can tell by this guys camo he is something special!"

FUCK NO
 
My friend used the be the fruit and veg manager at Safeway supermarket and he said the amount of spiders coming out of banana crates was ridiculous. He used to be scared of them but that job cured him.

I had a mate who worked in a fruit market in the UK, he said you'd go in first thing to get ready for the day and as you opened the big doors you'd just here skittering. He said he'd turn the lights on without looking until everything had cleared else he'd never get up the courage to get in and do his job.


Aren't those fangs like over an inch long and can pierce through your boot AND toe nail?

Australia scares me because of all the things that can kill you, yes I understand as long as your careful you should be ok but I'm not used to that kind of danger.
I guess people could be scared of the predators/dangers of where I grew up if they weren't born there. (Northern Minnesota - Wolves, Mountain Lions and Bears - Yes I've seen Bears and Wolves in the wild).

A lot of the funnel web stories are over exaggerated, most Australians have never seen a funnel web outside of captivity. They do have big fangs but they generally only get to around 1cm. They can't jump, they are rubbish climbers and when in striking mode they can only look in one direction, up. It's thought this evolved due to airborne predators. They can bite through soft leather and nails. Whilst they are aggressive for a spider, it's mainly an act to make you back down. They won't chase you and most of the year they won't be found outside of their burrow. They only move around in the rainy season or after heavy rain, often because their burrows flood, but also because they can't survive very long without a lot of moisture, literally trying to cross a road in summer might see them dead. They can live under water for a few hours, so check the hotel pool if you visit! Most bites occur when people are gardening, picking up dead leaves/vegetation, not shaking out shoes left outside(It's like a ready made dark, damp, funnel web house!) or walking around bare foot after rain. Cats and dogs are immune to their venom, so no worries there. My next door neighbor found one a few weeks ago, have a video on here of my son looking at it in a container. Couldn't get the thing to take a defensive pose no matter what, it was very chilled. The neighbor took it off for the anti-venom program.
 

Couleurs

Member
I wonder if you ever stop to reflect on your poor life choices when you realize your job involves picking through a vast network of spider webs in Australia
 
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