Category:Acromantula
From UnknowableWiki
| Creature profile | |
|---|---|
| Acromantula | |
| Ministry of Magic Classification | XXXXX |
| Appearance | gigantic eight-eyed spider, thick, black hair |
| Origin | Borneo |
| Known specimens | Aragog, Mosag, their descendants |
| First appearance in canon | The Very Secret Diary (CS) |
| Notes made on Harry's copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | 9 X's added to the classification (probably by Ron); Harry adds that the so-called unconfirmed rumours of an Acromantula colony in Scotland were 'confirmed by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley' |
Acromantula are huge, poisonous spiders from the jungles of Borneo. The first recorded sighting dates from 1794. They are of near-human intelligence and capable of human speech. They reach a legspan of up to fifteen feet. Their head, body and legs are covered in thick black fur which turns grey with old age. They have eight eyes and legs and a pair of large curved pincers which they click when they are angry or exited. Females are larger than males. Acromantula dwell in dome-shaped webs on the ground. A female can lay up to a hundred beachball-sized soft white eggs which hatch after six to eight weeks. The eggs are classified as Class A Non-Tradeable Goods (FBAZ).
Acromantula are carnivorous and have a preference for large prey, including humans (CS15) and their own dead (HBP22). Despite the fact that they have probably been bred by wizards to guard treasure—creatures capable of human speech rarely occur naturally—they are considered untameable (FBAZ). Nevertheless, the case of Hagrid and Aragog shows that Acromantula can become friends with humans and even do their bidding under exceptional circumstances. As all spiders, they fear the Basilisk and dare not even speak its name. They like the dark and quiet (CS15).
Acromantula venom is rare and very valuable. Because it is almost impossible to collect venom from a living Acromantula and the venom dries out shortly after their death, a pint can fetch up to a hundred Galleons (HBP22).
Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest
Full article: Aragog
Rubeus Hagrid establishes an Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest. He gets an Acromantula egg from a traveller as a boy and hides the spider Aragog that hatches from it in a cupboard at Hogwarts. Tom Marvolo Riddle discovers his sercret and frames Hagrid and Aragog for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and the murder of Myrtle. Hagrid is expelled. Aragog escapes into the Forbidden Forest where Hagrid visits him n regular intervals. He later finds Aragog a wife, Mosag, and they found a prosperous family that dwells on a vast hollow in the middle of the forest.
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley visit the colony after the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets and Hagrid's subsequent arrest in May 1993. The Acromantula try to eat them after Aragog speaks to them but they escape with the help of the Flying Ford Anglia (CS15).
It is possible that the giant spider Harry and Cedric Diggory fight during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament is an Acromantula. Cho Chang thinks so and Harry does not correct her when she says so at the DA's formative meeting in the Hog's Head (OP16). However, the spider never talks and Harry himself does not explicitly identify it as an Acromantula during the task, so Cho might be mistaken (GF31).
Aragog dies in the spring of 1997. After his death, the other Acromantula no longer let Hagrid visit their colony. Hagrid has trouble to get Aragog out of the forest to bury him (HBP22).
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort occupies the Acromantula's clearing (DH34); the spiders that live there are chased out of the forest and help attack the castle (DH32).
Although the colony is secret, unconfirmed rumours about it circulate (FBAZ, HBP22).
