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(CNN) -
A huge fanged funnel-web spider capable of piercing human fingernails has been donated to an antivenom program in Australia, sparking a call for its anonymous donor to come forward.
Nicknamed "Mega Spider," the arachnid measures 8 centimeters from leg to leg, with fangs 2 centimeters long, the Australian Reptile Park said in a statement Friday.
At 5 centimeters in body, it is the largest funnel-web spider the park has ever seen, he added.
"Megaweb" is the largest funnel-web spider the Australian Reptile Park has ever seen, measuring 3 inches from leg to leg.
"It is unusually large and if we can get the public to deliver more spiders like this, the result will be that more lives will be saved due to the large amount of poison they can produce," said Michael Tate, park education officer.
"We are very eager to know where she came from in hopes of finding more HUGE spiders like her."
Mega spider is not Australia's largest spider
According to the Australian Museum, the average body length of a funnel-web spider is 1 to 5 centimeters, which makes this one one of the big ones.
But it is by no means the largest type of spider in Australia.
That honor belongs to the tarantula, also known as the hissing spider, because of the noise it makes when provoked.
The body of the northern species Selenocosmia crassipes can grow up to 6 centimeters long, with a leg-to-leg length of 16 centimeters.
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The funnel-web spider or Atrax robustus may be smaller, but it is one of "the most notorious members" of the country's spider fauna, according to the Australian Museum's website.
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Poisonous
Although not all of the 40 or so varieties of the species are dangerous, "several are famous for their highly toxic and fast-acting venom," and the male Sydney funnel-web spider is linked to the 13 recorded human deaths. , the museum said.
"This remarkable spider has become part of Sydney's folklore and, although no deaths have been recorded since the introduction of an antivenom in 1981, it remains an icon of fear and fascination for the people of Sydney," says the museum.
Spider keeper Jake Meney with mega-spider.
The Australian Reptile Park said it will milk Mega Spider's fangs for venom that can be turned into antivenom.
The spider was donated somewhere in the coastal area of Sydney or New South Wales, the park added.
"It was in a Tupperware container with no labels indicating where it came from," the statement said.
"Caregivers are eager to discover the area it came from in hopes of finding more large spiders as they produce greater amounts of venom for the antivenom program."
Spiders