If you’ve been watching the blessing to Sunday night television that is Planet Earth II, you’ll know some things: firstly, that truth is stranger than fiction, and second, that the earth is a fascinating world of little known beasts awaiting discovery. Which is why you won’t so much as blink an eye when you hear that scientists have discovered a spider that looks like the Hogwarts sorting hat.
Eriovixia gryffindori; our new species named after the sorting hat from @jk_rowling books Kudos to my brilliant coauthor @INDogProject pic.twitter.com/L8U0aeXdak
— Javed Ahmed (@curiocritters) December 10, 2016
Meet the ‘Eriovixia Gryffindori’, a newly discovered species of spider from India named after Godric Gryffindor.
The spider comes from Western Ghats mountain range in Karnataka, southwestern India. Its large, pointed body shares a striking resemblance to the sassy sorting hat from the Harry Potter films, owned by Godric Gryffindor.
The scientists who discovered the spider wrote in the Indian Journal of Arachnology that: “This uniquely shaped spider derives its name from the fabulous, sentient magical artifact, the sorting hat, owned by the (fictitious) medieval wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
The name is “an ode from the authors, for magic lost, and found, in an effort to draw attention to the fascinating, but oft overlooked world of invertebrates, and their secret lives.” J.K Rowling responded to the naming on Twitter, saying she is “truly honoured!”
.@curiocritters I'm truly honoured! Congratulations on discovering another #FantasticBeast! ??✨ pic.twitter.com/NJ4Fe27F1r
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 11, 2016
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Here’s hoping the Eriovixia Gryffindori will make an appearance in the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them sequel.