The World's Oldest Spider Is Dead At 43

This will probably be one of the saddest/terrifying headlines you'll read in 2018. The world's oldest known spider, a trapdoor spider named "Number 16," has passed away at the ripe old age of 43 after being stung by a wasp. Yeah, let's all let it sink in that spiders can live that long, and had this one not been cut down in its prime by one of the biggest jerks of the animal kingdom, things could've gone on much longer. 

Apparently, spiders living to old ages isn't that uncommon, as scientists say trapdoor spiders in particular have a tendency to live longer in the wild (via Geekologie):

Tarantulas tend to live their entire lives in the same burrow hole, making them easy to track. By marking the burrow where Number 16 lived, scientists have been monitoring her movements in the wild ever since she was first found in the Central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia in 1974.

Scientists were able to determine "that the extensive life span of the trapdoor spider is due to their life-history traits, including how they live in uncleared, native bushland, their sedentary nature, and low metabolisms," lead researcher Leanda Mason, of Curtin University, said in a statement.

Now I'm just sitting here wondering if any spiders currently hiding out in my house are older than me. Who would've thought they could live so long?