Hadronyche cerberea
Southern Tree Funnel-Web Identification: H. cerberea
Medically important tree-dwelling funnel-web from eastern New South Wales, identified most usefully by funnel-web anatomy, range and a silk retreat in rough-barked timber.
Medical emergency — call 000 for suspected biteThe southern tree funnel-web, Hadronyche cerberea, is a medically important funnel-web spider found along the south-eastern coast and highlands of New South Wales, north to the Hunter River region. It is a tree specialist rather than simply a dark spider found near wood: established retreats occur in trunk fractures, rot holes and old borer holes in rough-barked paperbarks, banksias, she-oaks and eucalypts. Look for the funnel-web group first—a robust spider with a glossy, mostly unpatterned carapace, closely grouped eyes, powerful down-striking jaws and visible rear spinnerets—then combine those features with an eastern NSW locality and a concealed silk-lined tree retreat. Colour or a single photograph cannot safely prove H. cerberea, and the characters that separate it from close Hadronyche species require expert examination. Any suspected bite is a medical emergency, whether or not the exact species is known.
Quick identification
- Robust dark mygalomorph with a hard, glossy and mostly unpatterned carapace
- Small eyes grouped closely above powerful jaws, with four rear spinnerets
- Silk-lined retreat in a trunk fracture, rot hole or old borer hole in rough-barked timber
- Eastern New South Wales south of the Hunter River, including Sydney and the Central Coast
- Exact species cannot be established safely from dark colour or a close-up photograph alone
What to check next
From a safe distance, photograph the whole upper surface and rear spinnerets, the retreat entrance and the surrounding tree. Record body length, locality, date, tree species if known and whether silk trip lines crossed the bark. Never peel bark, split timber or probe a hole to expose the spider.
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 completely 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 wash the bite, use a tourniquet or delay first aid to catch, photograph or identify the spider. Healthdirect applies this response to a funnel-web bite or a bite from any big black spider. A systematic review found severe envenoming in 3 of 4 eligible, expertly identified H. cerberea bites—75%, with a very wide 95% confidence interval of 19%–99%. That tiny historical sample cannot predict an individual bite; it supports treating every suspected bite urgently.
Where it is usually seen
Sclerophyll forest, open forest and wooded gardens in eastern New South Wales south of the Hunter River, especially rough-barked Melaleuca, Banksia, Allocasuarina and eucalypt trunks containing fractures, rot cavities or borer holes. Retreats may also occur in fallen timber and sheltered wood around homes.