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==Notes and references==
  
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Revision as of 12:44, 24 August 2018

"Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic. The massive specimen that was carrying Harry made its way down the steep slope toward a misty, domed web in the very centre of the hollow, while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load."
— Harry Potter's description of the acromantulas[src]

An Acromantula is a species of giant spider, native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia, particularly Borneo where it inhabits dense jungles. Acromantulas are believed to be a wizard-bred species, designed to guard dwellings or treasure hoards, and were first created before the Ban on Experimental Breeding in 1965. These giant spiders with a taste for human flesh were first spotted in 1794.

Physical description

Acromantulas sport eight, black eyes (white if blind) and are typically covered in thick black hair, with a leg span that can reach up to fifteen feet. On average, they are the size of a carthorse, though old specimens such as Aragog may grow to 15 feet in leg span.

They possess a set of giant chelicerae which they use to eat live prey or their own dead kin. Their pincers produce a clicking sound when they are agitated or excited.[1] They also secrete poison when excited.[2] They are sentient, and capable of human speech.

The fangs contain highly toxic venom, valued at 100 Galleons a pint in 1996.[3]

Reproduction

The female is usually larger than the male, and can lay up to one hundred soft, wide, beach ball-sized eggs at a time. They usually hatch in six to eight weeks.[1] Acromantula eggs are a Class A Non-Tradeable Goods.[1]

Social Behaviour

Acromantula

In contrary to most non-magical spiders, Acromantulas are social animals, who live in large colonies consisting of hundred's of their species. These colonies are led by the oldest male and female of said colonies, who are highly respected and met with absolute obedience. The Acromantula Aragog, for example, was able to keep his entire colony from eating Hagrid, despite their instincts telling them to attack humans, because he respected Hagrid as a friend.

Acromantulas are capable of forming emotional attachments to other sentient beings, but only if they are raised well from a very young age. A good example is the friendship between Aragog and Hagrid, with the latter having raised the giant spider from when he was still in his egg.[4] However, this friendship does not automatically extend to people associated with whoever managed to win the respect of an Acromantula nor do other members of a colony automatically treat said person as friend, as they will first and foremost treat humans and other sentient beings like prey. This is demonstrated after Aragog died, the other spiders immediately tried to eat Hagrid, despite him being a good friend to their former leader.

Whenever a member of an Acromantula colony dies, their corpse will be eaten by the other spiders upon death. This includes the leaders of a colony. It is not known if a dead Acromantula will be mourned by other members of its species so it cannot be said for certain if this is a funeral rite or simply a way to acquire food.[3]

The basilisk is the worst enemy of all spiders, including Acromantulas, feared so much that they do not even dare to speak of it, similar to how wizards of Harry Potter's world view Lord Voldemort and use a euphemism in place of his name. It is their greatest threat due to the basilisk's killing gaze and the fact that spiders have many eyes that grant extreme field of view, thus making them highly vulnerable targets.

Habitat

Acromantulas tend to reside in thick jungles and heavily forested areas, and their webs are large and dome-shaped.[1][4]

Acromantulas in the Wizarding World

File:Tumblr m3f7mtfdjZ1qgt0vro5 250.gif

Acromantulas participate in the Battle of Hogwarts

A colony of Acromantulas was established in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by Aragog and his wife, Mosag. Rubeus Hagrid originally kept the young Aragog in a cupboard box in the school's dungeons. Aragog was released into the Forest by Rubeus Hagrid at about the time of the 1943 opening of the Chamber of Secrets.[4]

During the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament in 1995, an Acromantula was positioned close to the Triwizard Cup. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory joined forces to defeat it.[5]

The Forbidden Forest Acromantula colony participated in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, when the Death Eaters drove them out of the Forest, and towards Hogwarts Castle. Rubeus Hagrid was captured by the Death Eaters after he was lost among the swarm in his efforts to protect Aragog's offspring.

Etymology

The name Acromantula has the Greek ακρος (acros/acro), meaning high or "peak," and -mantula, from the English "tarantula." True to their name, Acromantulas are massive arachnids who tend to spin their expansive webs high in tree tops. Despite the names bearing a phonetic similarity to Tarantulas, they appear more like Wolf Spiders and are, in all depictions, araneomorphae.

The eight eyes of the Acromantula are used to symbolise the number eight in the runic alphabet.[6]

Behind the scenes

Screenshot 428
  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter used Arania Exumai, a stunning or killing spell for use against spiders, while attempting to escape the Acromantula colony. He learned the spell from Tom Riddle upon visiting the latter's sixteen year old memory in his diary. The spell was never mentioned in the book.
  • The Acromantulas in the film more closely resemble wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) than actual tarantulas (family Theraphosidae), but that may reflect upon the fact that wolf spiders were the first kind of spider to ever be referred to as "tarantulas".
  • In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Ron pens an added nine "X"s to the Acromantula's Classification. This is a reference to his fear of spiders. He and Harry also cross out the "unconfirmed" at the end of the sentence "Rumours of an Acromantula colony being established in Scotland are unconfirmed" and replace it with "Confirmed by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
  • In the films, Acromantulas have two big eyes, at the height of human eyes, with a line of four small eyes underneath and an eye on each side of the head, human temple height. This is a detail that is not specified in the books. 
  • The spider that Ron faced off in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban closely resembles a Black widow, with the exception of its size, which may have been the result of his encounter with the much larger sized Acromantulas.
  • In Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, riders encounter Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest portion of the the ride.

See also

Appearances

Wiki
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Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  2. ↑ Harry Potter Bloomsbury Glossary: Acromantula: exact quote: Monstrous eight-eyed, hairy spiders capable of human speech. Carthorse-sized and carnivorous, they have eight legs and sharp pincers. When excited or angry, they make a distinctive clicking sound and secrete poison. They fear Basilisks.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  5. ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  6. ↑ J. K. Rowling's official site
  7. ↑ In the Chamber of Secrets, a door is about to close. You can then see an Acromantula walking towards you before the door is closed.
Study of Ancient Runes
Ancient Runes Made Easy
Professors: Bathsheda Babbling · Clodagh Dromgoole · Elspeth MacGillony
Textbooks: Advanced Rune Translation · Ancient Runes Made Easy · Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms · Rune Dictionary · Spellman's Syllabary
Known runes: Acromantula · Demiguise · Ehwaz · Eihwaz · Fwooper · Graphorn · Hydra · Quintaped · Runespoor · Salamander · Unicorn · Unknown · Mark of Merlin
Magical creatures by classification
X Flobberworm · Horklump
XX Augurey · Bowtruckle · Chizpurfle · Clabbert · Diricawl · Fairy · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Imp · Jobberknoll · Mooncalf · Porlock · Puffskein · Ramora · Winged horse
XXX Ashwinder · Billywig · Bundimun · Crup · Doxy · Dugbog · Fire crab · Fwooper · Glumbumble · Hippocampus · Hippogriff · Hodag · Jarvey · Knarl · Kneazle · Leprechaun · Lobalug · Mackled Malaclaw · Moke · Murtlap · Niffler · Nogtail · Pixie · Plimpy · Pogrebin · Red Cap · Salamander · Sea serpent · Shrake · Streeler · Winged horse
XXXX Centaur · Demiguise · Erkling · Erumpent · Golden Snidget · Graphorn · Griffin · Hidebehind · Kappa · Kelpie · Merperson · Occamy · Phoenix · Re'em · Runespoor · Snallygaster · Sphinx · Tebo · Thestral · Thunderbird · Troll · Unicorn · Winged horse · Yeti
XXXXX Acromantula · Basilisk · Chimaera · Dragon · Horned Serpent · Lethifold · Manticore · Nundu · Quintaped · Wampus cat · Werewolf
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