Scientists have named a new species of crab first discovered almost 20 years ago after Harry Potter and Professor Severus Snape.
Late researcher Harry Conley discovered the tiny crabs in Guam 19 years ago, but they were not identified as a new genus and species until recently, according to LiveScience. One of the scientists involved in the identification process who is a big Harry Potter fan named the crab Harryplax severus in a nod to Potter, Snape, and Conley.
Conley was an ex-Marine who collected many specimens from various places during his explorations. In the early 2000s, Conley gave his collections to Gustav Paulay at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who shared them with Peter Ng, a biologist at the National University of Singapore, LiveScience reported.
Ng co-authored the study that identified the crab with Jose Christopher E. Mendoza, whose idea it was to name the new crustacean after J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books.
Harryplax severus is a tiny creature only about a quarter to a third of an inch long, with beady eyes and well-developed antennae. The crab lives up to 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) deep under the water’s surface in coral rubble or under subtidal rocks and is pale in color, LiveScience reported.
The creature’s name seemed appropriate to its identifiers because it was hidden for so long before being identified, the Daily Mail reported, as "Harry Potter" character Severus Snape was also very secretive.
Conley’s discoveries, including the Harry Potter-named crab, are said to have "substantially advanced the cause of marine science," the Mail reported.
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