Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

ATRAX-ROBUSTUS
Deadly Funnel-web Spiders
MANY FOUND AT DUDLEY
Emergency relief workers clearing scrub
and forming a road from Whitebridge to
Dudley Beach have unearthed Spiders of
very pugnacious character that, when dis
turbed, strike at the tools used by the
workmen.
A specimen was captured and fowarded
for identification to the Australian
Museum Sydney by Mr. H. Roberts, of
Whitebridge. The Museum authorities re
plied to the effect that the specimen was
a male Atrax-Robustus (erroneously
known as the "trapdoor" spider), and that
a bite from is deadly.
The spiders of the genus Atras are
included in the suborder Mygnlomot.
phae of the order Araneida, and include
eight species of spiders occurring in East
ern Australia. Toxie bites have been
recorded from only two of them, namely,
Atrax-Robustus and Atrax-Formidabilis.
Atrax-Robustus is a large black or red
dish-brown spider. The male is about an
inch long and the female one and one
third inches. The esphalthorax (head
part) is black, shining and smooth, the
abdomen dull brown, and ventrally, the
body is reddish brown. The male has
longer legs than the female and is more
active.
Both sexes are pugnacious, and attack on
the slightist provocation. They do not
costruct lids to their burrows or re.
troeats, but spin iltstead a. funnel 'of 'll:
Tlte)r etc leo' t related te ' rap'do
tritiore, hrot ttotte of tCe .llitl-btuliing foriidttt
·lidnbu no oR d~iill ·:
are recorded as hartnlftl to mant,'. At',f .
Cobotus onCoen. ttvantanbu ttf l oan y, nthri!,
crwevio in ,titleit to 1110e0 its silineteiobe,.:
Anoh st ti Ci side of foendu posts,. tIldotlr.
loge, uuIior stolCes; d ul rott on'trou.s
tind' tlum ps. '
Firotn 1M.7, thie autihoity rltittod, 2
nutbor ofcases of rsider.bltes fronl .the
(tintltl web ophlor Itad oeceurrod, and In
had caused 'four doeaths, 'l'hono that rto
covered wcere at Cirlt tIeepr'atoly l1, it
Cthe patients who illed tone wts a by oY
while the others wore,' ettti, e l iaged
twqnty'llve; hnd. rortlylaaycn .yellrll, 'Tlld 'r
thildren died withli two hours anlld the;
women withlit 11 to 13 hionrs,'
A p Ia 1recanteI n It wa0 rouonmmontelt'
thot all hites from spideros shouhld B triBit
od 'os hate itte., Apitly a tourniqttet tCo
toe iltet, ptrtion ot thie linh 'or parot.
Illlttet, itt etteit a tannoo ias to atoll tt C
hr'ettltlia t of II, ito.h h I, trlItU Cite h etile h
from t io , ot h et'on hnot edhntOC,, '
oq| the, blle aI n rllll y t ut I'h' I mt pa h ellll
elill9 . (Ionly's rE' y nlsla).1 ,Uit ::t III:UYd
abmbillanuce attendantc or doctor; ationau, .:·"
$