Aragog spider

Aname is a genus of spiders that is endemic to Australia, with one species (Aname tasmanica) found only on Tasmania.

Spiders in this genus are called 'wishbone spiders', for the shape of their open silk-lined burrow, which has the shape of the letter "Y", with one arm shorter than the other. Only the longer arm reaches the surface. The shorter arm is believed to allow the spider to survive flooding by trapping an air bubble.

Aname spiders prefer dry open country and occurs throughout much of Australia (though mostly inland).

Within this genus, we find the Aname aragog. This species is named for J. K. Rowling’s fictional spider Aragog which first appeared in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' (1998). Aname aragog has been discovered in 2012 at a single location in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, at the Jimblebar minesite, ca. 35 km E. of the township of Newman[1].

Aname aragog is a medium sized spider with a total length of 2.7 centimeters.

[1] Harvey et al: Molecular and morphological characterisation of new species in the trapdoor spider genus Aname (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Nemesiidae) from the Pilbara bioregion of Western Australia in ZooTaxa - 2012