Category Archives: Critters

Meet Eriovixia gryffindori, a fantastic beast discovered in our very own Muggle world and named after a character in the Harry Potter book series, The Washington Post reports. The new spider species resembles the Sorting Hat—a wide-brimmed, brown-tinged, floppy, triangular hat that once belonged to Godric Gryffindor, a founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. (For the not-so-diehard Potterheads out there: The magical hat places first-year witches and wizards into one of four houses each named after a founder of the school.) The researchers found the critter in Western Ghats mountains, a biodiversity hotspot along India’s western coast. Even J. K. Rowling, the “wordsmith extraordinaire,” as the scientists called her in their paper published in the Indian Journal of Arachnology chimed in on the finding via Twitter: “I’m truly honored! Congratulations on discovering another fantastic beast!” she wrote.

Talented wildlife photographer David Weiller has captured absolutely gorgeous footage of a beautiful markia hystrix, better known as a lichen katydid as it delicately walked along the branch of a tree covered in the distinctive white filamentous lichen for which the graceful insect was named.

Katydids comprise a diverse group of insects particularly well adapted to survival in rainforest because of their exceptional camouflage. Most katydids are well camouflaged with brown or leaflike green markings. The Lichen Katydid, Markia hystrix (Orthoptera – Tettigoniidae), however, has one of the most incredible camouflages of all. It resembles the pale greenish-white lichens on which it lives in rainforest treetops. Not only does the color match the lichens, but the body and legs have a bizarre assortment of spines and points that blend well with lichens, in fact, so well that this insect is extremely difficult for predator to find.

https://youtu.be/ia5G5IWndV0

You’ve probably never heard of it, but the elusive creature – considered a subspecies of the wildcat, Felis silvestris – is one of the most endangered animals in Britain. And, ironically, its biggest threat comes in feline form.

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