Funnel, the spider of Oliver McKinney

Funnel is Oliver McKinney's pet Australian Sydney funnel-web spider, a mygalomorphae spider that is considered the deadliest spider in the world. The venom of his species is so potent that it can take anywhere from one vial to twelve vials of antivenom to treat one bite. This is part of the reason Oliver McKinney loves him so much.

History

When he hatched from his nest at the Bravewood City Zoo, he was about to be torn apart by some of his siblings. The zoo employees were in the middle of explaining about this to those watching when a fiesty little boy broke into his enclosure and started playing with him and his siblings. This strange occurance caused Funnel to feel something from within the boy and he stayed with him. The zoo, however, didn't appreciate that the boy was playing with such deadly spiders and rushed him from the cage, much to his parents' relief.
The boy was checked all over for any bites after the spiders had been removed from him. Well, all but little Funnel, who had nestled himself deep wihin the strands of the boy's dark hair. The boy's parents brought him home and scolded him for an act so dangerous. But the boy didn't let that get to him.
As he retired to his room, Funnel crawled from his hair, along his arm, and onto his floor. The boy was surprised Funnel had made it home with him and he decided to keep Funnel a secret from his parents, lest they didn't allow him to keep Funnel. The boy introduced himself to Funnel and even gave him a name. For two weeks, the boy, now known as Oliver to Funnel, was able to keep Funnel from everyone, but late one evening, his parents heard him talking to himself and went to check on him when they found a Funnel nestled in a shoe box that was dark and damp, just like his natural habitat.
His parents feared for his safety and attempted to get him to safety, but Funnel didn't appreciate that and charged at Oliver's dad. Oliver became scared and didn't understand what Funnel was doing, but he quickly reached out to Funnel and the spider paused, crawling onto his hand and nestling himself under the sleeve of his shirt.

Table of Contents

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by Mike Gray
(Australian
Museum)

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Quick Facts

Alignment:

Chaotic Neutral

Species:

Austraian Sydney Funnel-web Spider

Status:

Alive

Birth Year:

2009 AD 10 Years Old

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Appearance

Gender:

Male

Eyes:

Black

Skin Tone:

Black

Length:

15 mm (1.5 cm)

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Other Notes

Owner:

Oliver McKinney

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Pronouns

He/Him

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by Ramon Mascord (Australian Museum)

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