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[Saya]

Eriovixia Gryffindori

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Scientists in India have named a new species of spider after famed (fictitious) wizard Godric Gryffindor from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels due to its resemblance of Hogwarts’ magical Sorting Hat.

The new species, which measures just 7mm, has been named Eriovixia Gryffindori, after Gryffindor, one of the founding wizards of Hogwarts, and original owner of the hat used by the wizarding school to sort students into their houses.

"We are very excited to have found this new spider whose shape is very similar to the magical sorting hat worn by the wizard (Gryffindor) in Harry Potter,” lead author Javed Ahmed told the Times of India.

"As a youngster, I was very fond of reading the Harry Potter books. So, when I encountered this tiny spider, I thought of the magical hat," he said.

The new “fantastic beast” was discovered in the Kans forest area of Western Ghats, Karnataka by a team already responsible for discovering five new spider species in the last two years. Their study is published in the Indian Journal of Arachnology.

The tiny creature has a magical power of its own, too: camouflage. Its unusually shaped sub-triangular abdomen allows it to look like a dried leaf, which it hides amongst to avoid predators when it sleeps during the day as it is nocturnal.

Ahmed even shared his exciting discovery with JK Rowling on Twitter. With typical enthusiasm, Rowling tweeted in response “I'm truly honoured! Congratulations on discovering another #FantasticBeast!"

 

[Darryl M R]

Life imitates art

Pretty cool

 

[GK86]

Gaf's love for HP vs Gaf's hatred for spiders. Go!

 

[shira]

10 points for nope

 

[kswiston]

Would have made for a better sorting hat in the films too. You put it on your head, and its legs probe your potential by caressing your face.

 

[Saya]

Would have made for a better sorting hat in the films too. You put it on your head, and it's legs probe your potential by caressing your face.

That's Berserk material.

 

[Koyuga]

What a cute lil fella.

 

[CommandThrower]

Wow, that thing looks like a hermit crab, only the shell is part of it's body.

 

[Stinkles]

Anyone else imagining what kinda juice would pop and burst out of the hairy sac abdomen thing if you bit into it?


Probably everyone, right?

 

[SecretMoblin]

looks delicious.

 

[LycanXIII]

Read about this the other day, it said that the spider is smaller than your pinky fingernail.

 

[KeyBladerXIII]

Anyone else imagining what kinda juice would pop and burst out of the hairy sac abdomen thing if you bit into it?


Probably everyone, right?

Not juice, a million baby spiders.

 

[Ridley327]

Would have made for a better sorting hat in the films too. You put it on your head, and its legs probe your potential by caressing your face.

See if you can top that, Cronenberg!

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

god taped a hershey kiss on a spider and it was good

 

[Joeku]

Anyone else imagining what kinda juice would pop and burst out of the hairy sac abdomen thing if you bit into it?


Probably everyone, right?

...Minus 30 points, ugh.

 

[Bronx-Man]

Would have made for a better sorting hat in the films too. You put it on your head, and its legs probe your potential by caressing your face.

I think WB just found their screenwriter for the 2028 Harry Potter reboot.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Now put that little fella right on top of your head.

 

[Genghis Khan]

That thing is fucking horrifying

 

[egruntz]

I think it's so awesome we're finding new species all the time.

 

[NHarmonic.]

Amazing! Loved the name too.

 

[BeforeU]

That does not look like a spider:O

 

[privitsan02]

Is it edible?

 

[WrenchNinja]

Why would they name it after gryffindor and not aragog or hagrid

 

[Lotto]

aptly named, very cool morphology

 

[Log4Girlz]

Sorty McSortface

 

[weepingangelz]

Anyone else imagining what kinda juice would pop and burst out of the hairy sac abdomen thing if you bit into it?


Probably everyone, right?

i wish you werent the way you are

 

[SpaceWolf]

Not Slytherin, eh?

 

[Nategc20]

How much gooey shit would cover your foot if you stepped on it?

 

[Creepy]

Neat.
I like harry potter and I like spiders.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

Haha, I was wondering what the hell spider would be named after a Harry Potter thing on purpose, but seeing the pic it became immediately clear Cute fella!

 

[.JayZii]

What an interesting body.

It looks like something designed for a video game or a movie monster. I can hear the art director saying, "We need a stronger silhouette!" now.

 

[Toxi]

Adorable. :::

What an interesting body.

It looks like something designed for a video game or a movie monster. I can hear the art director saying, "We need a stronger silhouette!" now.

Many orb-weaver spiders have unusual body shapes. IIRC, it's because they sit in the center of a web all day, so their silhouette looking less spider-like helps them be less recognizable to predators.

 

[Messofanego]

Anyone else imagining what kinda juice would pop and burst out of the hairy sac abdomen thing if you bit into it?


Probably everyone, right?

Spending too much time in Thailand, I see.

 

[Lagamorph]

Kill it with fire.

Kill them all with fire. The entire spider race needs to be Order 66'd

 

[Lufiaddict]

Many orb-weaver spiders have unusual body shapes

Unusual leg shapes are not uncommon either.

 

[DeadlyParasite]

How fast can we set it on fire?

If I saw one of those things I'd freeze up.

 

[Vhalyar]

How fast can we set it on fire?

If I saw one of those things I'd freeze up.

Life must be tough for you if something 7mm long is enough to make you freeze.

 

[Delicious Waffles]

10 points for nope

Agreed. Nope, nope, nope.

 

[Wyndstryker]

I would easily assume that is a snail before thinking it's a spider.

 

[HStallion]

Anyone else imagining what kinda juice would pop and burst out of the hairy sac abdomen thing if you bit into it?


Probably everyone, right?

I imagine no worse than this

 

[1upsuper]

Would have made for a better sorting hat in the films too. You put it on your head, and its legs probe your potential by caressing your face.

Why

 

[chrisPjelly]

I imagine no worse than this

DUDE DAS NSFL

 

[Haly]

I imagine no worse than this

whywhywhyhwyhwyhwywhywhwyhwywhywhwyhwywhywhwyhwywhywhywhwywhywhwyhwywywhywhydhwyaowith vnoeauw4vth;aewoi4vtmu ;asewot4bumse;vtpos;,vroflx

 

[Toxi]

I imagine no worse than this

Waste of perfectly good bug insides.

 

[kswiston]

I imagine no worse than this

That jet of guts happened to me this summer. A big caterpillar got into my house, and I didn't notice it until I stepped on it with bare feet. At least the guts shot between my toes instead of in my mouth I guess. Besides being grossed out, I felt bad for the caterpillar that I inadvertently turned into toejam.

 

[Weiner Whistle]

Pretty creepy yet cool looking spider.

 

[Shaanyboi]

That thing looks ridiculous. I love it.

 

[The Artisan]

so, has this spider been existing and we just discovered it

or it just showed up outta evolution

 

[Crema]

so, has this spider been existing and we just discovered it

or it just showed up outta evolution

Just evolved apparently. Evolved a lot slower than other spiders due to its trainer wanting it to learn new moves quicker.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

I imagine no worse than this

Remember folks, if you're trying to survive, don't make a fire and eat this protein rich insect raw so it tastes gross and you don't actually eat any of the important bits