Gaius villosus is a species of spider in the family Idiopidae (armored trapdoor spiders) found in Western Australia in a variety of different habitats.[2]
Originally described in 1914 as Gaius villosus by William Joseph Rainbow,[1][3] in 1957 it was transferred to Anidiops by Barbara Main[1][4] (a genus no longer recognized). In 2017, it was returned to Gaius by Rix and others[1][5] – at the time it was the sole species in the genus,[5] although others have been added since.[1]
Number 16,[6] aged approximately 43 years at death and thought to be the longest-lived spider on record, was a female of this species.[7][8]
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^ abRix, Michael G.; Raven, Robert J.; Main, Barbara York; Harrison, Sophie E.; Austin, Andrew D.; Cooper, Steven J.B.; Harvey, Mark S. (2017). "The Australasian spiny trapdoor spiders of the family Idiopidae (Mygalomorphae : Arbanitinae): a relimitation and revision at the generic level". Invertebrate Systematics. doi:10.1071/IS16065.