Culture

Scientists Have Named A Newly Discovered Spider After The Sorting Hat From ‘Harry Potter’

Eriovixia Gryffindori.

by Tom Clift  13 December 2016

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Researchers in Mumbai have named a newly discovered species of spider after the sorting hat from Harry Potter – and when you’re finished trembling in revulsion, you have to admit, the resemblance is sort of uncanny.

The fantastic beast dwells in mountainous south-west India, and got its name, Eriovixia Gryffindori, thanks to its strange triangular shape that it uses to camouflage itself as a dry leaf and thus protect itself from predators. “This uniquely shaped spider derives its name from the fabulous, sentient magical artefact, the sorting hat, owned by the [fictitious] medieval wizard Godric Gryffindor,” reads the entry in the Indian Journal of Arachnology.

“As a youngster, I was very fond of reading Harry Potter books,” researcher Javed Ahmed told The Times of India. “So, when I encountered this tiny spider, I thought of the magical hat.”

“We might name another cool spider after Aragog!” he subsequently tweeted.

Ahmed also shared the news with Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has since signed off on the name. So, y’know, expect it to become part of official canon any day now.

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h/t ABC. Feature image via Javed Ahmed/Twitter