NEW DELHI: A new species of spider discovered in the forests of Karnataka has been named after Godric Gryffindor, a character from J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series of books.
The spider is uniquely shaped like the magical artifact the 'Sorting Hat', which features in the Harry Potter series.
In the books, the famous talking hat is owned by the medieval wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The name Eriovixia gryffindori is an ode to "magic lost and found," an effort to draw attention to the fascinating, but often overlooked world of invertebrates and their secret lives.
The spider is "a small, cryptic, nocturnal araneid which takes refuge in and mimics dried foliage, during daylight hours," researchers wrote in the study published in the Indian Journal of Arachnology.
A member of the genus Eriovixia, the species is characterised by a sub-triangular abdomen, a tapering posterior, and spiny legs.
The genus is globally represented by 20 species, of which four are known to occur in India, researchers said.
The new species was found in the Kans of Shivamogga in Karnataka - specialised forest lands harbouring unique microclimatic conditions and consisting of evergreen and semi-evergreen vegetation, surrounded by deciduous forest.
Researchers, including Javed Ahmed and Rajashree Khalap from Mumbai, found a female specimen of the spider during a survey of the 'Kans' of central western ghats.
The specimen was photographed and subsequently collected and preserved. PTI