Australian National University scientists have discovered a red Atrax sutherlandi, which is a close relative of the Sydney Funnel Web Spider – known for it’s extremely toxic venom – while on a collecting trip in NSW.
Zoologist Mark Wong told Australian Geographic while he and his team were picking through a network of webs, the 5cm spider jumped out at him.
“Before I knew it, boom! She had rushed out of her silken lair with her legs raised and fangs greeting me with glistening venom,” Wong said. “Instantly taken aback by her colours, I knew there and then, this was something special.”
The red colour found on the female spider has been described as a pigment mutation.
“So what we are seeing in this particular specimen may be a case where the genes for red pigment are being expressed in the wrong tissue,” he said.
The team is yet to find any similar mutations, meaning that the red specimen is somewhat a special discovery.
I hated spiders already. I certainly did not need red funnel web spiders in my life. Check out more details in the article at Yahoo! News.
Check out the creepy crawly video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDBH1dZOYls
