Researchers say they used anatomical and DNA comparisons to study different populations of the Sydney funnel-web spider – one of the world’s deadliest spiders – and found there were three species, only two of which were previously known to science.

Researchers reclassify the infamous Sydney funnel-web spider into three distinct species: Atrax robustus, Atrax montanus, and Atrax christenseni. Led by a team from the Leibniz Institute, the Australian Museum,

The study marks a major shift in understanding the Sydney funnel-web spider, with each newly identified species occupying distinct regions.

Australia's reputation for venomous spiders comes partly from the deadly Sydney funnel-web. It turns out there is not just one species, there are three.

“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.

An international team of scientists has revised the classification of Australia's most famous spider. With a bite more deadly to humans than that of any other spider, the iconic Sydney funnel-web has long been considered a single species,

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.