--- title: Hary Potter: Spider Resembling Sorting Hat Found in India description: Harry Potter-literate scientists have discovered a new species in Indian forestland which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Sorting Hat. canonical: https://time.com/4598911/sorting-hat-spider-harry-potter-jk-rowling/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-13T12:46:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:49:26.226Z article:section: Science og:title: Even J.K. Rowling Thinks This Spider Looks Like the 'Harry Potter' Sorting Hat og:description: Scientific researchers have named the tiny brown spider 'Eriovixia gryffindori' og:url: https://time.com/4598911/sorting-hat-spider-harry-potter-jk-rowling/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd71007bbdbdb961/6988b2e60b72e305fc6ec0d5/harry-potter-spider.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: harry-potter-spider og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Even J.K. Rowling Thinks This Spider Looks Like the 'Harry Potter' Sorting Hat twitter:description: Scientific researchers have named the tiny brown spider 'Eriovixia gryffindori' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd71007bbdbdb961/6988b2e60b72e305fc6ec0d5/harry-potter-spider.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Even J.K. Rowling Thinks This Spider Looks Like the _Harry Potter_ Sorting Hat by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Dec 13, 2016 12:46 PM UTC  Sumukha J.N. and Warner Bros. by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Dec 13, 2016 12:46 PM UTC [_Harry Potter_](http://time.com/4598405/harry-potter-santa-claus-theory/)\-literate scientists have discovered a new species of spider in the forests of India that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Sorting Hat used to divide Hogwarts students into their houses in [J.K. Rowling’s](http://time.com/4590449/j-k-rowling-annotated-harry-potter-book/) magical series.  Eriovixia Gryffindori Sumukha J.N. The tiny brown arachnid, which scientific researchers Javed Ahmed, Sumukha J. N. and Rajashree Khalap have named “Eriovixia gryffindori,” was spotted in the land of the Western Ghats mountain range in Karnataka, in southwestern India.  Sumukha J.N. Writing about their find in the [_Indian Journal of Arachnology_](http://indianarachnology.com/ija/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ija%5F2016%5Fv5%5Fn1%5F2%5Fp7%5F24%5F27.pdf), the scientists explained that the “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.” > [](https://twitter.com/curiocritters/status/807642364172849152) Giving the find a _Potter_\-inspired moniker is an “effort to draw attention to the fascinating, but oft overlooked world of invertebrates, and their secret lives,” the document states. On Twitter, J.K. Rowling responded to a tweet from Ahmed informing her of the creature’s discovery. “I’m truly honoured!” she wrote. “Congratulations on discovering another #FantasticBeast.” > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/807899642360983552) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4598911/sorting-hat-spider-harry-potter-jk-rowling/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4598911/sorting-hat-spider-harry-potter-jk-rowling/"},"headline":"Even J.K. 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