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Harryplax severus was originally found on the island of Guam in the western Pacific by Harry Conley, a former US marine turned researcher, among rocks and coral rubble in 1998. Conley’s vast
collection was given to the Florida Museuem of Natural History before his death and, recently, biologists Peter Ng and Christopher Mendoza were able to confirm that one of the specimens
belonged to both a new genus and species. Writing in the scientific journal ZooKeys, the scientists from the National University of Singapore, explained how they arrived at the new taxonomic
name. They wrote: “The new genus is named primarily in honor of the intrepid field collector, the late Harry T Conley, who collected many interesting crustaceans in the rubble beds of Guam,
including the species presently being described. “The name is also an allusion to a famous namesake, Harry Potter, the magical hero of the popular book series by JK Rowling, and Mr Conley’s
uncanny ability to collect rare and interesting creatures as if by magic. “The name is an arbitrary combination of 'Harry' and the suffix '-plax'. “The specific epithet,
severus (Latin for harsh, rough, rigorous), alludes to the rigorous and laborious process by which this crab was collected. “It is also an allusion to a notorious and misunderstood
character in the Harry Potter novels, Professor Severus Snape, for his ability to keep one of the most important secrets in the story, just like the present new species which has eluded
discovery until now, nearly 20 years after it was first collected.”