The Name Game Animals

Coral reef crab named after Harry Potter characters

16 years after its discovery, the crustacean is labeled a new species

Harryplax severus

ACCIO CRAB!  A newly identified crab species from Guam (Harryplax severus) is named after Harry Potter, the main character in J.K. Rowling’s popular books, and Harry Conley, who discovered the crab and had a knack for finding rare sea creatures, as if by magic.

Jose C. E. Mendoza (CC BY 4.0)

By Helen Thompson

- More than 2 years ago

Deep beneath coral rubble in reefs off the coast of Guam, there lives a pale, black-eyed crab whose true taxonomic character has long been unknown.