Researchers in Brazil Name Newly Discovered Cave Spider After Harry Potter's Aragog

Numerous newly discovered species, ranging from wasps to crabs, have been named after characters from Harry Potter. According to CNET, Brazilian researchers have identified a new cave spider species, naming it Ochyrocera aragogue in honor of Hagrid's giant spider, Aragog. In a nod to literary influences, the team also assigned classic names to six other arachnids found in the caves of northern Brazil. Their findings were published on January 10 in the scientific journal ZooKeys.

A group of scientists from Instituto Butantan, a biological research center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, discovered these cave-dwelling spiders among 2000 adult specimens gathered over five years of fieldwork. All seven species are part of the Ochyrocera genus and inhabit underground iron caves in Pará, a northern Brazilian state. (Pará is home to the Carajás Mine, one of the largest iron ore mines globally.) Researchers suggest the region may harbor more such spiders, though mining operations are diminishing the area's biodiversity.

Unlike the elephant-sized Aragog, introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, these newly found arachnids are minuscule, measuring under an inch in size. They also differ from typical cave-dwelling creatures, as they are not entirely pale and retain all six eyes. While they can live their entire lives in caves, they have been observed moving toward cave entrances and occasionally venturing outside.

Beyond Ochyrocera aragogue, scientists drew inspiration from fantasy literature to name other Brazilian cave spiders, referencing creatures from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, and H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu. Among the names chosen were Ochyrocera laracna, inspired by Laracna, the spider that ambushes Frodo and Sam in LOTR; Ochyrocera varys, named after GoT's Lord Varys (also known as The Spider); and Ochyrocera atlachnacha, paying homage to the spider deity Atlach-Nacha from Lovecraft's mythos.

Not all spiders from literature are frightening, so the researchers also honored E.B. White's Charlotte's Web and David Kirk's children's series Little Miss Spider by naming two newly discovered species Ochyrocera charlotte and Ochyrocera misspider, respectively.

This isn't the first instance of a spider being named after Hagrid's companion; in 2017, researchers from the University of Tehran named a newly found wolf spider species in southeastern Iran Lycosa aragogi.