INNER VIEW: STEVE NUNN
Page 2 of 4 | 2005 Interview by Michael Jacobi
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MJ: When American and, I would imagine, other foreign hobbyists think about the Australian fauna one of the first arachnids that comes to mind is the Atrax sp. funnel-web spider. Would you care to dispel any myths about this spider and comment on whether these are kept in captivity?
SN: Well I would think the first myth is that Atrax robustus or Sydney Funnel-web is the world's most venomous spider. All 14 species from the genus Hadronyche are potentially lethal. However, with A. robustus the fact it is found in the older suburbs of Sydney has lead to more contact with humans then any of the other Funnel-webs. The most venomous without doubt is another Funnel-web (in reality, all 15 true Funnel-webs—Atrax and Hadronyche, are the most venomous spiders on the planet—in a "top ten" list no other spider would get a mention). The Fraser Island Funnel-web, Hadronyche infensa has been shown to have a more potent venom. Another myth is that only funnel-web males are dangerous. It actually depends on which species as to which sex has the stronger venom. For example in the species Hadronyche formidabilis, or Northern Tree Funnel-web, the female is the most dangerous. While they will take to a captive lifestyle, some species are very difficult to keep, such as the Northern Tree Funnel-web, which is so flighty it will throw legs if disturbed! They do require slightly different conditions to that of tarantulas, the funnel-webs prefer to be kept on sand and generally they love it cold, 2 of the 15 species are arboreal and in that case will prefer the additional corkbark setup. I do however think keeping these animals in captivity, or the want to, is highly overrated. They are hardly ever visible, prone to high level stress, will pull prey through their webs and are not easily maneuvered.
MJ: Can you give us a general overview of the Australian arachnid fauna? For example, which families are particularly well represented and which are uncommon or absent, and which regions have the greatest diversity of theraphosid spiders and scorpions?
SN: Most arachnid groups are extremely well represented in Australia, theres a large diversity particularly of mygalomorph fauna with 80% of the families within the infraorder present (in that regard we probably have more diversity then any other country in the world). Many of the mygale genera are endemic to Australia with some desert fauna that are extreme in morphology to say the least. Scorpions are well represented here, we have genera again that are endemic, one of which, the Urodacus or Golden Desert Scorpion possess numerous species, all very large and commonly kept in captivity. Members of the scorpion group Buthidae are also present in Australia.
Its very difficult to measure an area with the greatest arachnid diversity in Australia, because of our extreme climatic variation completely different groups are found in geographical regions. In arid habitats arachnids of all orders do very well and are common, but I would assume its in the rainforests of northern Australia that the diversity is at maximum. This is the region where up to 90% of our insects are found, it would stand to reason the arachnid orders would follow suit.
MJ: Are the tarantula species you and other serious breeders working with limited to one region? Are there areas where the tarantula fauna is unknown?
SN: In the past most of the serious breeders in Australia have focused on the fauna found in the Wet Tropics region in North Queensland. The diversity in that region alone has kept us very busy! In the last couple of years we have expanded though, working with the soon to be resurrected genus Phlogius, determining variation within the genus and trying to breed those new variants, with great success so far. Only very recently have we been looking further geographically, to the states of N.T and W.A. for specimens never even seen before, let alone maintained or bred in captivity. Unlike most countries, the theraphosid diversity in Australia remains largely unknown, the further we look, the more variation we see. With a country as large as ours is, we have a long way to go before we fully understand and are aware of the diversity of this group down under.
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