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Have you Seen the Harry Potter Sorting Hat Spider

Arachnophobes be warned this is all about spiders; well one spider in particular, one that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Harry Potter Sorting Hat.

Discovered in India this newly named arachnid really does resemble the infamous sorting hat from the Harry Potter films based on the bestselling series by author JK Rowling and fortunately for Potter fans across the world the man responsible for naming it is also a fan of the Boy Wizard and didn’t hesitate to give this quirky little eight-legged beastie an appropriate name.

Measuring a teeny tiny 7mm in length the spider was discovered in the Kans forest area of Western Ghats, Karnataka by a team who have already discovered several other new spider species during their expedition which has been going on for the last two years and has been published in the Indian Journal of Arachnology. Its unusual shape is believed to be a form of camouflage with the triangular outline resembling a leaf and allowing the spider to disappear into the undergrowth to avoid potential predators during the daytime as it is a nocturnal spider.

Discussing the spider’s nomenclature lead author Javed Ahmed told the Times of India “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,” explaining his thinking by adding “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,” and so the Eriovixia Gryffindori spider named after Godric 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 was born.

Tweeting about the discovery to the creator of all things Potter Ahmed’s announcement was met with typical enthusiasm and gratitude from the famously generous and responsive J.K Rowling.

Here’s to many more #FantasticBeasts being discovered in this magical world we live in.



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