A group of researchers from Mumbai have named a newly-discovered spider in the Western Ghats after a wizard from the Harry Potter series and the moniker already has author JK Rowling's approval.
The tiny spider in question has been named Eriovixia gryffindori after Godric Gryffindor, the founder of the Gryffindor House at Hogwarts. This is because the spider takes the shape of the enchanted Sorting Hat, that was originally owned by Gryffindor and later used to sort new students into Hogwarts houses, as a camouflage to protect itself from predators during daytime.
The tiny spider, measuring only 7 mm in length, was discovered in Karnataka's Kans forest by naturalists Javed Ahmed, Rajashree Khalap and Sumukha Javagal. The team, which has previously discovered five other spider species, published their findings in the Indian Journal of Archaeology on Saturday.
"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," Ahmed told the Times of India.
JK Rowling responded to Ahmed's tweet about the discovery by congratulating the team for "discovering another Fantastic Beast".