[Javed Ahmed / Indian Journal of Arachnology]
A new spider species discovered in India has been named after the owner of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat in the Harry Porter books.
The spider is nocturnal and during daylight hours its shape and coloring give it camouflage to blend in with dead, dry foliage. The species was discovered in the forest of the Western Ghats, a mountainous region in southwest India.
The spider just 7 millimeters (0.28 inches) long has been named Eriovixia Gryffindori, after Godric Gryffindor, the character who originally owned the magical "sorting hat" in in the Harry Potter books, researchers reported in a paper published in the Indian Journal of Arachnology.
In the paper. the authors wrote: "This uniquely shaped spider derives its name from the fabulous, sentient magical artifact, the sorting hat, owned by the medieval wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
The researchers hope that the newly discovered spider's name will inspire interest in the world of arachnids. They wrote that 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."
"As a youngster, I was very fond of reading Harry Potter books. So, when I encountered this tiny spider, I thought of the magical hat," lead researcher Javed Ahmed, told the Times of India. Ahmed alerted Harry Potter author JK Rowling to the discovery on Twitter.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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Park Sae-jin
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