Posted: Dec 13, 2016 6:51 pm
A new species of spider has been found in India, and has been named after the original owner of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter novels. 
Say hello to Eriovixia gryffindori.
Non technical news article here.
The scientific paper is this one:
A New Species Of Dry Foliage Mimicking Eriovixia Archer, 1951, From Central Western Ghats, india (Araneae: Araneidae) by Javed Ahmed, Rajashree Khalap & Sumukha J. N., Indian Journal of Arachnology, 5(1-2): 24-27 (December 2016) ISSN 2278-1587 (Online)
From the paper in more detail:
Say hello to Eriovixia gryffindori.
Non technical news article here.
The scientific paper is this one:
A New Species Of Dry Foliage Mimicking Eriovixia Archer, 1951, From Central Western Ghats, india (Araneae: Araneidae) by Javed Ahmed, Rajashree Khalap & Sumukha J. N., Indian Journal of Arachnology, 5(1-2): 24-27 (December 2016) ISSN 2278-1587 (Online)
Ahmed et al, 2016 wrote:ABSTRACT
A new species of cryptic, dry-foliage mimicking araneid, Eriovixia gryffindori sp. nov. is described from the unique ‘Kans’ forestlands of central Western Ghats, Karnataka, India.
INTRODUCTION
Members of the genus Eriovixia Archer, 1951 are characterized by possessing a pilose carapace, sub-triangular abdomen, tapering posteriorly with or without a caudal appendage, legs spiny; epigynum bearing a short, stout scape, with a recurved tip, to which a pair of curved sclerites bearing anterior copulatory openings are completely incorporated, and fused with. Globally represented by 20 species, four are known to occur in India. (Archer, 1951; Han & Zhu, 2010; World Spider Catalog, 2016).
A new species from the ‘Kans’ of Shivamogga, Karnataka; specialized forest lands harboring unique microclimatic conditions, and consisting of evergreen and semi-evergreen vegetation, surrounded by deciduous forest (Hemanjali et al., 2015), is described, and herewith placed under the genus.
From the paper in more detail:
Ahmed et al, 2016 wrote:Etymology
This uniquely shaped spider derives its name from the fabulous, sentient magical artifact, the sorting hat, owned by the (fictitious) medieval wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and stemming from the powerful imagination of Ms. J. K. Rowling, wordsmith extraordinaire, as presented in her beloved series of books, featuring everyone’s favorite boy-wizard, Harry Potter. An ode from the authors, or magic lost, and found, in an effort to draw attention to the fascinating, but oft overlooked world of invertebrates, and their secret lives.