“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.

“Big boy” funnel-web was initially discovered in the early 2000s, but has now been officially confirmed by Australian scientists. The new huge variation was named Atrax christenseni in honour of the discovery of the creature in Newcastle - which is over 100 miles from Sydney.

The first person to discover the Aussie spider, Kane Christensen, has warned people not to approach it, citing its massive fangs and glands that produce 'copious amounts of venom'

A larger and more venomous species of one of the world's deadliest spiders has been confirmed by Australian scientists. Nicknamed 'big boy', it can grow up to 9cm (3.54 inches) compared with 5cm (1.97 inches) for the more common Sydney funnel-web.

A new species of funnel-web spider has been discovered in Newcastle, Australia - even larger and more venomous than common Sydney funnel-web spiders.

Scientists in Australia have discovered a larger, more venomous species of one of the world's deadliest spiders, the Sydney funnel-web spider.

A new bigger and more dangerous version of the world's deadliest spider, the funnel web, has been identified in the land down under – and it even has longer fangs and more venom

Scientists from Australia and Germany have classified a new, highly venomous species of spider, Atrax christenseni, known as Big Boy. It is very large and highly venomous, with bites that can be fatal.