Say hello to 'Harryplax severus' – elusive coral reef crab named after Harry Potter characters!

Image courtesy: Jose C. E. Mendoza

New Delhi: This is something that would totally amuse Harry Potter fanatics. Looks like the trend of naming newly discovered species of animals and insects – land or marine – after famous people – real or fictional – won't be dying out soon.

A crab species native to the coral reefs off the coast of Guam was a discovery of amateur researcher Harry Conley in 2001. Two specimens of the black-eyed crab whose true taxonomic character has long been unknown, were presented into the lab of biologist Peter Ng at the National University of Singapore.

Now, Peter Ng and his colleague Jose Mendoza have confirmed the crustacean as a new species and given it the moniker 'Harryplax severus'.

The name is in honour of the one who discovered it – Harry Conley who died in 2002 and Harry Potter – the fictional boy wizard who was a creation of the franchise's author, JK Rowling.

Mendoza, a Harry Potter fan himself, suggested the species designation 'severus' — a reference to the books’ notoriously uptight and misjudged Severus Snape, whose true nature remains elusive until the series’ end.

As per Science News, H. severus belongs to a group of crabs first found in shadowy caves on Christmas Island. With small beady eyes, well-developed antennae, washed-out coloration and long legs, the crabs are suited to the dimly lit nooks and crannies of Guam’s rubble beds — a place where Snape, a prickly potions master who worked in a dungeon, might feel right at home.