New spider species named after Harry Potter character
Potterheads, take note! A wolf spider crab species has been named after Aragog — the giant, talking arachnid from JK Rowling’s popular fantasy Harry Potter series.
Researchers, including those from University of Tehran in Iran, have named the newfound spider Lycosa aragogi which has a one-inch long body (excluding the legs), with two black and three white stripes of setae, or hair, on its upper body.
The arachnid also has black setae on the appendages by its mouth, ‘giving the spider a charismatic look,’ while its abdomen is covered with black and white setae.
“The animatronic puppet created for the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was based on the anatomy of a wolf spider,” said Alireza Zamani, from the University of Tehran.
“We found out that there was an extreme similarity between our spider and Aragog as he was depicted in the second film,” Zamani said. “Since it was also the 20th anniversary of the series, we thought it might be a good idea to celebrate this wonderful franchise,” said Zamani.
The spider was spotted in a mountainous region of Iran’s Kerman Province. Once the spiderlings are born, the mother keeps them on her back and feeds them for the first few weeks, Zamani said.
“This nurturing behaviour is not so different from that of Aragog — who loved his colony of Acromantulas so much he wouldn’t stop them from devouring Harry Potter and Ron Weasley,” Zamani said, referring to the events that occur in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.