Eriovixia gryffindori

Eriovixia gryffindori is a species of spiders in the family Araneidae.[1]

Eriovixia gryffindori
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Eriovixia
Species:
E. gryffindori
Binomial name
Eriovixia gryffindori
Ahmed, Khalap & Sumukha, 2016

The animal belongs to the genus Eriovixia. It was discovered in 2015 in the Indian state of Karnataka by Javed Ahmed, Rajashree Khalap and Sumukha Javagal. The discoverers of this new spider thought it resembled the Sorting Hat of the Harry Potter books, so they named it after Godric Gryffindor, the original owner of the sorting hat.[2]

E. gryffindori is the most recent and possibly the most well-known of the 21 species of the genus Eriovixia. These spiders reside mostly in the tropical regions of Asia. Many species in this genus group are also known for their unconventional appearance. For example, the Orb-Web Spider from Thailand boasts a bright yellow abdomen, while the species E. pseudocentrodes brandishes a hat-like shape, similar to its cousin E. gryffindori.[3] Eriovixia gryffindori does not eat all the insects that fall into his net, but only some of them.

Habitat

It was discovered in the mountainous Western Ghats region of south-western India.

References

  1. Ahmed, Javed; Khalap, Rajashree; Sumukha, JN (2016). "A new species of dry foliage mimicking Eriovixia Archer, 1951 from central Western Ghats, India (Araneae: Araneidae)" (PDF). Indian Journal of Arachnology. Indian Society of Arachnology. 5 (1–2): 24–27. ISSN 2278-1587. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  2. New spider named after Harry Potter character, Times of India, 11 december 2016
  3. Blyth, Alison (2018-05-24). "Meet the spider that looks like a Hogwarts sorting-hat – Eriovixia gryffindori". EriovixiaGryffindori.org. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
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