The Tom Gulley Show Podcast!

Spider Number 16 holds a remarkable place in scientific history as the longest-living spider ever documented. In this episode of The Tom Gulley Show, Tom explores the extraordinary life of Spider Number 16, a female trapdoor spider studied for decades by renowned Australian arachnologist Barbara York Main. Discovered in Western Australia and first observed in 1974, Spider Number 16 survived for more than 43 years, quietly rewriting what scientists believed about spider lifespans. This episode examines how Barbara York Main’s patient, long-term field research made this discovery possible, why trapdoor spiders live so long compared to other arachnids, and what Spider Number 16 revealed about survival, adaptation, and longevity in the natural world. The conversation also highlights the rarity of long-term ecological studies, the importance of careful observation over decades, and how one unassuming spider became an unlikely scientific icon. Spider Number 16’s story is not just about age—it’s about persistence,