--- description: The world's oldest known spider has died after a record-breaking lifespan of 43 years, according to researchers in Australia title: The World's Oldest Known Spider Dies in Australia image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8124ff8d682f7ca0/69892f144ee262367d311a7b/g-villosus.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Australia](/tag/australia/) ## Australia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The World's Oldest Known Spider Has Died at the Age of 43 From a Wasp Sting by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2018 8:33 AM CUT  The world’s oldest known spider, known as Number 16, has died at the age of 43. The world’s oldest known spider, known as Number 16, has died at the age of 43.Courtesy of Curtin University by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2018 8:33 AM CUT The world’s oldest known spider has died after a record-breaking lifespan of 43 years, according to researchers in Australia. The [spider](https://www.yahoo.com/news/worlds-oldest-known-spider-dies-australia-wasp-sting-032111961.html "undefined"), known as Number 16 to Australian scientists, was a female trapdoor tarantula living in Western Australia’s Central Wheatbelt region, Agence France-Press reports. The spider didn’t die of old age, however, but was killed by a wasp sting, researchers said Monday. The long-lived arachnid far [outlasted](http://www.publish.csiro.au/pc/PC18015 "undefined") the previous record holder, a 28-year-old tarantula in Mexico, according to a study published in January in the journal _Pacific Conservation Biology_. Number 16 was discovered during a spider population study in 1974, and has been monitored by researchers since then. “To our knowledge this is the oldest spider ever recorded, and her significant life has allowed us to further investigate the trapdoor spider’s behavior and population dynamics,” said Curtin University’s Leanda Mason, the lead author in study. Speaking to the _Telegraph_, Mason [said the team](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/04/27/farewell-no-16-scientists-left-miserable-worlds-oldest-spider/ "undefined") were “really miserable” over the spider’s death. Trapdoor spiders, which are common across Australia and can be found in the wild as well as in residential areas, typically [live between](https://australianmuseum.net.au/trapdoor-spiders "undefined") five and 20 years. Females often live most to all of their lives in the same burrow hole, and are not considered dangerous to humans. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5259382/worlds-oldest-known-spider-dies-43/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5259382/worlds-oldest-known-spider-dies-43/"},"headline":"The World's Oldest Known Spider Has Died at the Age of 43 From a Wasp Sting","datePublished":"2018-04-30T08:33:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:07:23.036Z","description":"Number 16, as the spider was known, was 43 years old when it succumbed to a wasp sting","url":"https://time.com/5259382/worlds-oldest-known-spider-dies-43/","keywords":["Australia","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8124ff8d682f7ca0/69892f144ee262367d311a7b/g-villosus.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8124ff8d682f7ca0/69892f144ee262367d311a7b/g-villosus.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"G.villosus","caption":"The world’s oldest known spider, known as Number 16, has died at the age of 43.","creditText":"Courtesy of Curtin University","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5259382/worlds-oldest-known-spider-dies-43/","name":"The World's Oldest Known Spider Has Died at the Age of 43 From a Wasp Sting"}}]}] ```