List of organisms named after the Harry Potter series

The skeleton of Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis. Prior to being reclassified into the Pachycephalosaurus genus, the assigned species name, Dracorex hogwartsia, translates to "the Dragon-King of Hogwarts"

Newly created taxonomic names in biological nomenclature often reflect the discoverer's interests or honour those the discoverer holds in esteem. This is a list of real organisms with scientific names chosen to reference the fictional Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Named after wizards

Taxon Type Named for Notes Ref
Eriovixia gryffindori Ahmed, Khalap & Sumukha, 2016 Orb-weaver spider Godric Gryffindor "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" [1]
Harryplax severus Mendoza & Ng, 2017 Pseudozioid crab Harry Potter, Severus Snape "The new genus is named primarily in honor of the intrepid field collector, the late Harry T. Conley, who collected many interesting crustaceans in the rubble beds of Guam, including the species presently being described. The name is also an allusion to a famous namesake, Harry Potter, the magical hero of the popular book series by J.K. Rowling, and Mr. Conley’s uncanny ability to collect rare and interesting creatures as if by magic."

"The specific epithet, severus (L., harsh, rough, rigorous), alludes to the rigorous and laborious process by which this crab was collected. It is also an allusion to a notorious and misunderstood character in the Harry Potter novels, Professor Severus Snape, for his ability to keep one of the most important secrets in the story, just like the present new species which has eluded discovery until now, nearly 20 years after it was first collected."

[2]
Lusius malfoyi Saunders & Ward 2017 Wasp Lucius Malfoy "This species is named after Lucius Malfoy, a character in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories, for two reasons. First, the study of parasitoid wasps can be described as an enjoyable and ‘magical’ experience. Second, the fictional namesake and his family have a sinister reputation in the Harry Potter stories. However, in the end their reputations are salvaged. This parallels the way in which many people view ‘wasps’ in a fearful way, even though only a small proportion of wasp species cause damage or harm." [3]
Leptanilla voldemort Ant Lord Voldemort "The fearsome antagonists in Harry Potter and the Ant both have a ghostly and slender appearance and live in the shadows" [4]
Cardiomya minerva Carvalho de Lima, Oliveira & Absalão, 2020 Bivalve Minerva McGonagall "This species is named after the character Minerva McGonagall" [5]
Alastor moody Selis, 2020 Potter wasp Alastor Moody "The name of this species is dedicated to the fictional character Alastor Moody" [6]
Trimeresurus salazar Mirza et al., 2020 Pit viper Salazar Slytherin "The specific epithet is a noun in apposition for J.K. Rowling’s fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s co-founder, Salazar Slytherin. He was a Parselmouth that links him to serpents." [7]

Named after magical creatures

Taxon Type Named for Notes Ref
Aname aragog Harvey et al, 2012 Trapdoor spider Aragog "This species is named for J. K. Rowling’s fictional spider Aragog which first appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." [8]
Ampulex dementor Ohl, 2014 Cockroach wasp Dementor "The new species is named after the 'dementors' [...] The dementor's fictional behavior and effects reminded us of the effect of the stinging behavior of Ampulex on the behavior of its cockroach prey. After being stung by the wasp, specific behaviors of the cockroach are inhibited (e.g. escape behavior) while others are unaffected (e.g. locomotion). The wasp grabs the partly paralyzed cockroach by one of the antennae and guides it to a suitable oviposition location, the prey following the wasp in a docile manner." [9]
Cis occamy Rosa-Oliveira & Lopes-Andrade, 2023 Minute tree-fungus beetle Occamy "The species name is inspired by the animal Occamy, from the story “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”." [10]
Thestral Faúndez & Rider, 2014 Stink bug Thestral "The ivory carinae and calluses on the dorsum of the new genus resemble the skeletal body of Rowling’s thestral. Additionally, thestrals cannot be seen by everyone; the specimens of this new genus come from localities that have been fairly well collected, and yet the scarcity of specimens may be due to their not being easily seen by everyone." [11]
Leiocanthus nagini Sørensen et al, 2016 Kinorhynch Nagini "The species name, nagini, is the female version of Nāgá – the Sanskrit word for a group of divine dragons or serpent deities known from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Nagini is furthermore Lord Voldemort’s serpent, known from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels." [12]
Graphorn Faúndez, Rider, & Carvajal, 2017 Stink bug Graphorn "Graphorn [...] from the fictional creature created by J.K. Rowling in the book ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. [...] These are known to have two large golden horns, similar to the humeral spines of this new genus. In addition, the crenulate pronotal margins and elevated pronotal disk resembles the large dorsal hump of the graphorns." [13]
Lycosa aragogi Nadolny & Zamani, 2017 Wolf spider Aragog "This species is named after Aragog, the famous fictional spider from “Harry Potter” book series by J.K. Rowling, in a reference to the similarities between this species and the animatronic puppet version of the character used in the film “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, which is actually based on a wolf spider." [14]
Attacobius demiguise Pereira-Filho, Saturnino & Bonaldo, 2018 Corinnid sac spider Demiguise "The Demiguise is described in the Magizoology compendium 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' as being capable of making itself invisible when in danger. The name alludes to the behaviour of some Attacobius species, which appear to become invisible to ants while climbing onto their bodies." [15]
Ochyrocera aragogue Brescovit, Cizauskas & Mota, 2018 Spider Aragog "The specific name refers to Aragog, a spider capable of communicating with humans and a lover of human flesh" [16]
Macrobiotus naginae Vecchi et al., 2022 Tardigrade Nagini "Named after J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series character Nagini – Lord Voldemort's treasured snake companion. Formerly a cursed woman who is ultimately and irreversibly transformed into a limbless beast, this fictional character provides a fitting name for the new species in the pseudohufelandi complex, which in turn is characterized by reduced legs and claws." [17]

Named after spells, objects, and locations

Taxon Type Named for Notes Ref
Macrocarpaea apparata J.R. Grant & Struwe Gentianaceae Apparating "The term describes the magical ability to vanish and reappear at your destination (i.e. apparating). When we first found this new species, we could only find sterile individuals. After looking all afternoon, and only just before dusk, we finally found several flowering plants that seem to have 'apparated' in front of us, appearing out of nowhere." [18][19]
†Clevosaurus sectumsemper Bonaparte, 2015 Rhynchocephalian Sectumsempra curse "Latin meaning ‘always cut’, an allusion to the self-sharpening teeth that remain sharp by cutting against each other and the lower jaw throughout the animal’s life."

"It is also a nod to the Harry Potter character Severus Snape, who made a spell called sectumsempra."

[20][21]
†Dracorex hogwartsia Bakker et al., 2006 Ornithischia dinosaur Hogwarts "After the fictional 'Hogwarts Academy," invention of author J. K. Rowling, the species named in honor of her contribution to children’s education and the joy of exploration." The genus Dracorex subsequently was synonymized with Pachycephalosaurus.[22] [23]
Metallactus bezoar Sassi, 2018 Leaf beetle Bezoar "A bezoar is an object believed to have the power of a universal antidote against any poison. The name is here used to recall the young wizard Harry Potter, the main character of a popular series of fantasy novels." [24]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Mendoza, Jose C.E.; Ng, Peter K.L. (2017). "Harryplax severus, a new genus and species of an unusual coral rubble-inhabiting crab from Guam (Crustacea, Brachyura, Christmaplacidae)". ZooKeys (647): 23–35. Bibcode:2017ZooK..647...23M. doi:10.3897/zookeys.647.11455. PMC 5345348. PMID 28325962.
  3. ^ Saunders, Thomas E.; Ward, Darren F. (2017-07-03). "A new species of Lusius (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from New Zealand". New Zealand Entomologist. 40 (2): 72–78. Bibcode:2017NZEnt..40...72S. doi:10.1080/00779962.2017.1357427. hdl:2292/41733. ISSN 0077-9962. S2CID 90611651.
  4. ^ New species of ant found pottering under the Pilbara named after Voldemort
  5. ^ Lima, Tarcilla Carvalho de; Oliveira, Cléo Dilnei de Castro; Absalão, Ricardo Silva (2020-03-26). "Small, rare and little known: new records and species of Cardiomya (Bivalvia: Cuspidariidae) from Brazil". European Journal of Taxonomy (619). doi:10.5852/ejt.2020.619. ISSN 2118-9773. S2CID 216441965.
  6. ^ Selis, Marco (2020-08-06). "Notes on the Afrotropical species of Alastor Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), with description of nine new species". Zootaxa. 4822 (3): 361–388. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4822.3.3. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 33056277. S2CID 222841152.
  7. ^ Mirza, Zeeshan A.; Bhosale, Harshal S.; Phansalkar, Pushkar U.; Sawant, Mandar; Gowande, Gaurang G.; Patel, Harshil (2020-04-15). "A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from western Arunachal Pradesh, India". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 96 (1): 123–138. doi:10.3897/zse.96.48431. ISSN 1860-0743. S2CID 218816119.
  8. ^ Harvey, Frances S. B.; Framenau, Volker W.; Wojcieszek, Janine M.; Rix, Michael G.; Harvey, Mark S. (2012). "Molecular and morphological characterisation of new species in the trapdoor spider genus Aname (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Nemesiidae) from the Pilbara bioregion of Western Australia" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3383: 15–38. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3383.1.3. hdl:2440/86499. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 15 Jan 2018.
  9. ^ Ohl, Michael; Lohrmann, Volker; Breitkreuz, Laura; Kirschey, Lukas; Krause, Stefanie (2014). "The Soul-Sucking Wasp by Popular Acclaim – Museum Visitor Participation in Biodiversity Discovery and Taxonomy". PLOS ONE. 9 (4): e95068. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...995068O. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095068. PMC 3995701. PMID 24755672.
  10. ^ ROSA-OLIVEIRA, AYESSA; LOPES-ANDRADE, CRISTIANO (2023-08-01). "Cis occamy sp. nov, the first representative of the Cis bilamellatus species-group (Coleoptera, Ciidae) in the Neotropical region". Zootaxa. 5323 (2): 268–274. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5323.2.6. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 38220967.
  11. ^ Faúndez, Eduardo I.; Rider, David A. (2014-11-17). "Thestral incognitus, a new genus and species of Pentatomidae from Chile (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Carpocorini)". Zootaxa. 3884 (4): 394–400. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3884.4.9. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 25543797.
  12. ^ Sørensen, Martin Vinther; Gąsiorowski, Ludwik; Randsø, Phillip Vorting; Sánchez, Nuria (2016). "First report of kinorhynchs from Singapore, with the description of three new species". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 64: 21.
  13. ^ Faúndez, Eduardo I.; Rider, David A.; Carvajal, Mariom A. (2017). "Graphorn bicornutus, a new genus and a new species from Argentina (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)" (PDF). Arquivos Entomolóxicos. 17: 285–288.
  14. ^ Anton A. Nadolny; Alireza Zamani (2017). "A new species of burrowing wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae: Lycosa) from Iran". Zootaxa. 4286 (4). Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  15. ^ Pereira-Filho, José Moisés B.; Saturnino, Regiane; Bonaldo, Alexandre B. (2018-08-27). "Five new species and novel descriptions of opposed sexes of four species of the spider genus Attacobius (Araneae: Corinnidae)". Zootaxa. 4462 (2): 211–228. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4462.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 30314042. S2CID 52973230.
  16. ^ Brescovit, Antonio (2018). "Seven new species of the spider genus Ochyrocera from caves in Floresta Nacional de Carajás, PA, Brazil". ZooKeys (726): 87–130. doi:10.3897/zookeys.726.19778. PMC 5799772. PMID 29416386. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  17. ^ Vecchi M, Stec D, Tommi V, Ryndov S, Chartrain J, Calhim S (2022). "Macrobiotus naginae sp. nov., a New Xerophilous Tardigrade Species from Rokua Sand Dunes (Finland)". Zoological Studies. 61 (22): e22. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-22. PMC 9579948. PMID 36330020.
  18. ^ Jason R. Grant; Lena Struwe (2003). "De Macrocarpaeae Grisebach (Ex Gentianaceis) Speciebus Novis III: Six New Species of Moon-Gentians (Macrocarpaea, Gentianaceae: Helieae) from Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Ecuador". Harvard Papers in Botany. 8 (1). Harvard University Herbaria: 61–81. JSTOR 41761781. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  19. ^ Joseph Blumberg (2003). "Harry Potter and the Ecuadorian flowers, A new species of the gentian family gets a Potteresque name". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  20. ^ Klein, Catherine G.; Whiteside, David I.; de Lucas, Victor Selles; Viegas, Pedro A.; Benton, Michael J. (2015). "A distinctive Late Triassic microvertebrate fissure fauna and a new species of Clevosaurus (Lepidosauria: Rhynchocephalia) from Woodleaze Quarry, Gloucestershire, UK". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 126 (3): 402–416. Bibcode:2015PrGA..126..402K. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2015.05.003.
  21. ^ "Harry Potter sectumsempra spell inspires lizard name". BBC News. BBC. 4 Jun 2015. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 14 Jan 2018.
  22. ^ Goodwin, Mark B.; Evans, David C. (2016). "The early expression of squamosal horns and parietal ornamentation confirmed by new end-stage juvenile Pachycephalosaurus fossils from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, Montana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (2): e1078343. Bibcode:2016JVPal..36E8343G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1078343. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 131282984.
  23. ^ Bakker, Robert T.; Sullivan, Robert M.; Porter, Victor; Peter, Larson; Saulsbury, Steven J. (2006). "Dracorex hogwartsia, n. gen., n. sp., a spiked, flat-headed pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 35: 331–345.
  24. ^ Sassi, Davide (2018-04-20). "Revision of the Metallactus kollari species-group with a new diagnosis of the genus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae)". Zootaxa. 4413 (1): 57–110. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4413.1.2. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 29690121.