According to
ThinkQuest.org, Atrax robustus is located in only one area on
earth, within 160 kilometers (about 100 miles) of Sydney, Australia.
Its range stretches from New South Wales to Newcastle and Nowra, and
west to Lithgow. Its distribution is roughly illustrated on this
map.
Apparently, you're most likely to find them in forested upland areas,
the central Cumberland Basin, the Hornsby Plateau, the foothills of the
Blue Mountains, and the Woronora Plateau. (ThinkQuest)
The Sydney Funnel-web's habitat is in urban areas and forests. (Australian Museum Online) According to Reptile Park.com, they are often found amongst the plants in private gardens. They prefer cool, humid areas due to their susceptibility to desiccation (drying up). (Australian Museum Online)
Funnel-web spiders, according to CSIRO.au, live in burrows. These are typically in sheltered positions in the ground, but can be under stumps, tree trunks or ferns above the ground. According to Reptile Park.com, these burrows typically have two entrances. They line their burrows with silk and lay trip lines in radiating patterns around the entrances to alert them to prey, mates, or danger. (Australian Museum Online) According to Australian Museum Online, the most characteristic signs of a Funnel-web's burrow are these trip lines, so watch out if you are in Sydney and you see some!
Other organisms that live in A. robustus' habitat include, but are certainly not limited to, the Eastern Gray Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo), the Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo gigas), the Duck-Billed Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), and the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). (Life Down Under.com, National Geographic.com, Aussie-Info.com, The Koala.com, Billabong Factor.com, Philadelphia Zoo.org) Australia has an incredible diversity of life, and these animals are only a very small fraction of the myriad plants, animals, insects, and other species that populate the outback. Check out some of the sites above for a good starting place in your continued exploration of Australia's creatures! Here's a slideshow of the animals featured above, with images from Wikimedia Commons ordered with respect to the order of the organisms above. Below are links to the original picture pages.
Here are some links to other pages by UW-L students!
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