Hadronyche versuta

Blue Mountains Funnel-Web Identification: H. versuta

Medically important NSW Hadronyche associated with rotting-log and stump retreats from the Blue Mountains through the Illawarra; exact identification usually needs an expert.

Medical emergency — call 000 for suspected bite

About the Blue Mountains funnel-web spider

The Blue Mountains funnel-web, Hadronyche versuta, is a medically important Australian funnel-web spider named for one well-known part of a wider New South Wales range. Authoritative specimens extend from the Blue Mountains through the Southern Highlands, tablelands and Illawarra–South Coast region, with probable records near Eden. Look first for a robust dark funnel-web body, a hard glossy carapace, closely grouped eyes, powerful parallel-moving jaws and conspicuous rear spinnerets. A silk-lined retreat inside a rotting log or stump is especially useful habitat evidence. Male and female colour and proportions differ, and the exact characters separating H. versuta from neighbouring Hadronyche are microscopic. A photograph can support a funnel-web identification but must never be used to downgrade the urgency of a suspected bite.

How to identify Hadronyche versuta safely

Begin at the funnel-web family level. Australian atracids have a compact mygalomorph build, hard glossy carapace with no obvious dorsal pattern, softer hairier abdomen, powerful down-striking jaws, a tight eye cluster and four rear spinnerets. H. versuta has relatively stout posterior spinnerets with a short thick final segment, but this is a specialist distinction rather than a feature to inspect on a live spider. Gray’s revision described a Lithgow male with a body about 20.1 mm long and a Kanangra-Boyd female about 27.3 mm long, excluding the legs; these are individual specimen measurements, not complete size limits. Adult males are separated from close Hadronyche using the shape and spines of the second leg and mating organ. Those details require magnification and expertise. For an ordinary photograph, combine the funnel-web structure, NSW range and rotten-wood retreat, then keep the result at Hadronyche or Australian funnel-web level if any evidence is missing.

Clues that are not enough on their own

Black or glossy colour alone, because many funnel-webs, mouse spiders and other mygalomorphs are dark
Being found in the Blue Mountains without a clear view of structure or retreat habitat
A silk-lined hole by itself, because several unrelated burrow spiders use silk and rotten wood
A pale abdominal patch created by glare, dust, damaged hairs or a reflection rather than the true male marking
A pool, bathroom or rainy-night encounter, which can involve several wandering ground spiders

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

The familiar glossy black appearance is not uniform. The carapace can look black, dark mahogany or reddish brown under museum lighting, while the abdomen is duller and more densely haired. The revised male usually has a definite paler patch on the front of the abdomen, bordered by small impressed spots; the described female’s abdomen is usually dark maroon-brown and can be paler. Mature males are slimmer, longer-legged and have enlarged palpal bulbs. Females are broader through the abdomen and front body, and juveniles may be browner or less heavily sclerotised. Older literature and image labels can use Atrax versuta, Atrax versutus, Aname bicolor or Pseudatrax moreaui; current taxonomy accepts Hadronyche versuta. The licensed hero shows exact-species male and female museum specimens together, while a second retained exact-species image gives a closer dorsal view of the female. These preserved specimens show anatomy and sex contrast, not live colour, posture or habitat.

Behaviour, web and retreat

H. versuta is strongly associated with protected wood retreats. Gray recorded retreat burrows inside rotting logs and stumps, where entrance silk can be disguised with decayed wood particles and prey remains. Radiating trip lines transmit the movement of insects toward the hidden spider; the structure is an irregular entrance sheet and tube, not a circular orb web. A female or juvenile may remain inside the same protected retreat, while a mature male leaves shelter to search for females and can cross open ground or enter a house, shed or pool. Rain, humidity, night-time activity and a Blue Mountains address support only the wider funnel-web context. Never probe the silk, split a log, lift the surrounding bark, pour water into a retreat or place fingers near the entrance to make the spider emerge. Treat a spider removed from a pool as alive even if it appears motionless.

Australian distribution

The 2010 taxonomic revision summarises the confirmed distribution as the Blue Mountains to the Illawarra region of New South Wales and notes specimens probably attributable to H. versuta from as far south as the Eden region. Examined records include Jenolan, Katoomba, Leura, Blackheath, Wentworth Falls, Lithgow, Springwood and Bilpin, as well as Goulburn, Mittagong, Kangaroo Valley, Nowra, Jervis Bay and other tableland or South Coast localities. The original syntypes came from Jenolan. This evidence makes “Blue Mountains funnel-web” a useful common name, not a precise range boundary. A dark funnel-web elsewhere in NSW is not automatically this species, and several other Hadronyche overlap parts of the range. Preserve the broad locality, date, retreat material and untouched photographs for an Australian museum or arachnologist; do not publish a vulnerable household coordinate or attempt a dangerous specimen capture for confirmation.

What to do if you find one

Keep children and pets away and do not touch, corner or provoke the spider. If nobody has been bitten, use zoom from a safe distance and close off the room or immediate area if it is indoors. Do not dismantle a log or stump retreat for photography. A licensed pest professional or appropriate local wildlife service is safer than bare-handed relocation. Only a confident adult should consider a wide-container and stiff-card capture, and only when hands can stay well away and there is no risk; isolating the area is preferable. If a bite may have occurred, stop all capture attempts, call 000, keep the person still and begin pressure immobilisation. Do not wait for pain, sweating, nausea, muscle twitching, breathing difficulty or confusion. The 2005 clinical review recorded severe envenoming in 1 of 9 eligible confirmed H. versuta bites used for its rate calculation, with very wide uncertainty, and an earlier case report documented reversal of H. versuta symptoms with funnel-web antivenom. These studies establish genuine danger but cannot predict one bite’s outcome.

Compare with similar spiders

Use body shape, web or retreat, location and behaviour together before settling on a likely match.

Sydney funnel-web spider — Sydney funnel-web spider - Atrax robustus overlaps around the Sydney basin and western Blue Mountains. It has a different male leg spur and taxonomic anatomy, but a photograph or locality may not resolve them; use the broader funnel-web result and the same emergency response.
Australian funnel-web spiders — Australian funnel-web spiders - this family-level page is the correct choice when the glossy carapace, close eye group, jaws and spinnerets fit but the range, sex or specialist anatomy cannot establish H. versuta.
Southern tree funnel-web spider — Southern tree funnel-web spider - Hadronyche cerberea can use tree trunks, rot holes and timber retreats in eastern NSW. It has longer spinnerets and different adult male anatomy, but an image of a dark spider beside wood may need expert examination.
Mouse spider — Mouse spider - Missulena can be equally dark and medically significant, but usually has a broader bulbous head, eyes spread farther across the front and shorter spinnerets. Never approach a live spider to check; suspected bites receive the same emergency response.

Sources for this profile

These accessible authoritative sources support the identification and bite-safety context on this page.

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 10 August 2026.

Quick identification

Robust dark mygalomorph with a glossy, mostly unpatterned carapace
Small eyes grouped closely above the jaws and clearly projecting rear spinnerets
Silk-lined retreat inside a rotting log, stump or wood cavity, often camouflaged with wood particles
NSW locality from the Blue Mountains through Southern Highlands and Illawarra–South Coast records
Male may show a paler front abdominal patch; female can have a dark maroon-brown abdomen

What to check next

From a safe distance, photograph the entire upper surface and rear spinnerets, then record body length, locality, date and whether the silk entrance was in rotten wood, a stump or soil. Never handle the spider or open its retreat to inspect hidden characters.

When to seek medical help

Treat a suspected bite as a medical emergency. Call Triple Zero (000) and ask for an ambulance, lie the person down and keep them still. Apply an elasticated pressure-immobilisation bandage over the bite and then over the entire bitten limb, and splint the limb, if you can do so safely; mark the bite site, note the time and wait for the ambulance. Do not delay first aid to catch, photograph or identify the spider. Healthdirect applies this response to funnel-web bites and bites from any big black spider. Confirmed H. versuta envenomation has required antivenom, so uncertainty about the exact species or a lack of early systemic symptoms is not reassurance.

Where it is usually seen

Cool forest, woodland, escarpment, garden and bush-edge habitat in New South Wales, particularly where rotting logs, stumps and timber cavities provide a protected silk-lined retreat. Wandering mature males can be found away from a retreat, including around buildings or pools.

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