This Massive Funnel-Web Spider Is Named After Chris Hemsworth

Australia is known for its deadly creatures of unusual size. From the saltwater crocodile to the box jellyfish and even the eastern brown snake, these creatures are just a sampling of the critters that residents of the Land Down Under have to contend with in their daily lives. Another of those creatures is the funnel-web spider. These spiders are not only among the most populous in the country but also among the deadliest. Headlines were made when a typical, dime-sized funnel-web spider was turned into the Australian Reptile Park in January 2025. This particular funnel-web became known as the largest funnel-web spider in all of Australia, earning it the name Hemsworth.

How Hemsworth the Funnel-Web Spider Got Its Name

Funnel-web spiders are one of the most common spiders in Newcastle, Australia. However, despite how common they are, the spiders generally only bite between 30 to 40 people per year. Most funnel-web spiders are between one to five centimeters in size. Females are known for growing larger than males. However, in a twist of events, a massive funnel-web spider was discovered in January 2025 that put even the largest females of the species to shame. The funnel-web spider measured in at nearly double the normal size, at 9.2 centimeters. Given his gargantuan size, a name befitting the spider was necessary. Emma Teni, the Australian Reptile Park Spider Keeper, then decided that Hemsworth was the perfect name.

“This spider was just so big in comparison to his peers, it reminded me of Chris Hemsworth and his brothers, and how they tower over the average person,” Teni says. “Now I get to say I go to work with a Hemsworth every day.”

Hemsworth became a part of the Reptile Park’s venom program, which was started to create antivenom and save the lives of those who were bitten by funnel-web spiders. However, Hemsworth was not discovered at the Australian Reptile Park. Instead, he was captured in Newcastle and turned over to the Park to be used in its program.

How Hemsworth Was Discovered

Hemsworth did not just wander into the Australian Reptile Park. He was captured to be a part of the Park’s antivenom program. Speaking to A-Z Animals, Teni says Hemsworth was taken to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. Just who turned in the huge funnel-web spider is unknown. It is also not known where exactly in Newcastle Hemsworth was located.

Hemsworth was discovered in January 2025. Teni states that male funnel-web spiders have a “lifespan of about 12 months once they reach adulthood.” As of May 2025, Hemsworth is still alive, and his venom is being milked. Hemsworth’s exact age is not known. However, he and the other funnel-web spiders that are contributing to the antivenom program are essential to keeping Newcastle residents and visitors alive after being bitten by this highly venomous spider.

How Many Funnel-Web Spiders Does It Take to Create Antivenom?

With Hemsworth being such a large funnel-web spider, it is natural to assume that he produces a large quantity of the venom captured during the milking process. However, as Teni explains to A-Z Animals, Hemsworth alone cannot produce enough venom needed to create even one vial of antivenom.

“It takes 150-200 funnel-web milkings to create just one vial of antivenom,” according to Teni. “It’s hard to say how many lives specifically Hemsworth will save.”

Teni says, “Funnel-web bites usually require one or two vials, but the record is 14 vials for treatment.”

The funnel-web spiders, including Hemsworth, are not milked daily. Instead, they are “milked on a fortnightly basis.” Once the venom is collected from the spiders, it is frozen. From there, the venom is sent to the vaccine company Seqiris. Seqiris will inject rabbits with small amounts of venom over six months, gradually increasing the dose until the rabbits can safely be injected with six times the lethal dose. Blood is then drawn from the rabbits. The blood and antibodies are separated, and the antivenom is created.

Since the inception of the spider venom milking program in 1981, according to the Australian Reptile Park, there have been zero deaths from funnel-web spiders. Up to 200 spiders, ranging from spiderlings to adult male funnel-webs, are in the program at any given time. However, it is thanks to the public’s help that so many of the larger funnel-webs have been located in Newcastle. This includes Hemsworth, who was special not only because of his size but also because of his species.

What Makes Hemsworth Special

When the Australian Reptile Park announced Hemsworth to the world, they had no idea that the funnel-web spider was anything more than the normal funnel-webs collected in Newcastle. However, it was discovered that not only was Hemsworth special for his size, but he was also an undiscovered species of funnel-web spider altogether.

Hemsworth is an Atrax Christenseni funnel-web spider. While there is still much to learn about this species, the venom milked from Hemsworth is compatible with venom from other funnel-web spiders and can be used to create antivenom. What is interesting is that Hemsworth is not the first Atrax Christenseni the Park has received. It was not until a January 2025 study was published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, however, that one of the larger funnel-webs at the Park was tested. That spider, according to Teni, happened to be Hemsworth. It was determined that he was a member of the Atrax Christenseni species.

“Although we don’t primarily get these ‘big boy’ spiders every year,” Teni explains to A-Z Animals, we see a few come in and they always shock us with their size.”

Just how many more of these massive spiders will be turned into the Australian Reptile Park is not clear. However, given their massive size, the more that can be brought into the Park, rather than being the culprit behind a painful and potentially deadly bite, the better.