Number 16 (c. 1973 – 2016), also known as #16,
[ was a wild female ]trapdoor spider
Trapdoor spider is a common name that is used to refer to various spiders from several different groups that create burrows with a silk-hinged trapdoor to help them ambush prey.
Several families within the infraorder Mygalomorphae contain trapdoo ...
(''Gaius villosus
''Gaius villosus'' is a species of spider in the family Idiopidae (armored trapdoor spiders) found in Western Australia in a variety of different habitats.
Originally described in 1914 as ''Gaius villosus'' by William Joseph Rainbow, in 1957 ...
,'' family Idiopidae
Idiopidae, also known as armored trapdoor spiders, is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889. They have a large body similar to tarantulas.
Description
In some species the males have a spur on their legs, which ...
) that lived in North Bungulla Reserve near Tammin, Western Australia
Tammin is a town in the central agricultural region of Western Australia, east of Perth and midway between the towns of Cunderdin and Kellerberrin on the Great Eastern Highway.
The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. Th ...
. She died in 2016, at an estimated age of 43 years, and is the longest-lived spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species div ...
recorded to date.[ Number 16 did not die of old age, but was most likely killed by a parasitic ]wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
sting.
Long-term monitoring
Number 16 was studied in the wild by arachnologist Barbara York Main from March 1974 until 2016.[ By 1978, Main had tagged 101 burrows at the study site, within a few metres of each other.][
Number 16 spent her entire life in the same ]burrow
An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of s ...
, which is typical for her species.[ For over 40 years, her status was monitored by Main and her collaborators either six-monthly or annually.][ As Number 16 became older, the researchers developed a tradition of always checking her burrow first when they visited the site.][
]
Death
On 31 October 2016, researcher Leanda Mason discovered Number 16's burrow in disrepair, and the spider missing.spider wasp
Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group- ...
, suggesting that she had been parasitised, either before or after death.[ During a survey six months earlier, Number 16 had been alive.][ “She was cut down in her prime ..It took a while to sink in, to be honest," said Mason.][ The spider's death received widespread publicity in late April 2018, with the publication of a research article in the journal '']Pacific Conservation Biology
''Pacific Conservation Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing and dedicated to conservation and wildlife management in the Pacific region. It publishes original research, reviews, perspectives and book review ...
''.[ Based on the burrow fidelity of females of her species, the researchers concluded with a "high level of certainty" that Number 16 was 43 years old at the time of her death.][
]
References
Notes
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:16, Number
Individual animals in Australia
1973 animal births
Spiders of Australia
2016 animal deaths
Idiopidae
Oldest animals
Individual wild animals