Giant Funnel-Web Spiders Have Fangs Big Enough to Bite Through Your Shoe

As long as I can remember spiders have been scary, sure, but experts were always claiming that while some spiders can bite through human skin and harm us, they can’t bite through clothes or shoes. These are supposed to be what protect us against insect and spider bites. Now, one spider is growing progressively bigger and their fangs can now pierce through a person’s shoe. Of course, the spider in question is often thought of as the most deadly spider in the world, the funnel-web spider. Isn’t that just perfect?

A spider was recently discovered in someone’s house that probably scared the you-know-what out of them when they realized it was a giant funnel-web spider reaching 7.8 cm long, with fangs that are 8mm long. That is longer than the fangs of an eastern brown snake. They immediately brought the monster to the Australian Reptile Park, a wildlife sanctuary in Australia that runs an anti-venom program, in which they collect or “milk” funnel-web spiders for their venom and create live-saving anti-venom out of it. The experts at the park decided to name the spider Colossus after they saw its size.

The fangs of this spider are designed to penetrate through invertebrate shells, which also makes it easier for them to inject their venom in humans as well. Dan Rumsey at the park says these fangs could definitely bite through a person’s shoe depending on how sturdy the material is. Unless it isn’t made of thick leather, people should be watchful of these guys. With spring practically here and the rains that come with it, the male spiders are now coming out in search of females to mate with. Experts warn that many of these males will be older ones that have gone through their last molt and desperate to pass on their genes before they are killed by the female during the mating process and eaten. I don’t know about you, but if spiders can suddenly bite through shoes, I’m getting me some steel toed boots thick enough to break a bear’s teeth.

Do you think other spider species will begin to grow larger, including their fangs? How do you think this could impact the world in general and how we live our daily lives?