By Shreya Dasgupta The Sydney funnel-web spider, a highly venomous arachnid found crawling in and around Australia’s most populous city, was long thought to be a single species. But it’s actually three different species,

A ustralian scientists officially confirmed the existence of a new venomous funnel-web spider species, named Big Boy (Atrax christenseni), discovered near Newcastle, 170 kilometer

“The Newcastle funnel-web, Atrax christenseni— dubbed Big Boy—is a totally new species. The ‘true’ Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax robustus centres on the North Shore of Sydney and the Central Coast, and the Southern Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax montanus, is a resurrected species name from 1914,” Loria explained.

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.

Now scientists in Australia have discovered a new funnel-web spider which is even bigger and more venomous. Kane Christensen is behind the discovery and says "its venom glands are a lot larger and its fangs are a lot longer". The new species has been named Atrax christenseni after the man that discovered it.