Harry Potter has been the inspiration for the naming of a new species of ancient reptile unearthed in a quarry in England.
An undergraduate from the University of Bristol has proved that fossils from the previously unstudied Woodleaze Quarry in South Gloucestershire belong to a new species of the "Gloucester lizard" Clevosaurus.
This species was named in 1939 after Clevum, the Latin name for Gloucester. Now, part of the name chosen for the new species - Clevosaurus sectumsemper - takes inspiration from a spell cast in the Harry Potter books.
The fossil discovered in the quarry is a new small species of reptile with self-sharpening blade-like teeth that lived 205 million years ago.
Sectumsempra was a spell invented by Professor Snape in the Harry Potter books by author JK Rowling. It was used by the hero Harry to attack his enemy Draco Malfoy in the sixth book, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.
Student Catherine Klein, who undertook the research, said: "The new species, Clevosaurus sectumsemper, probably lived near the edge of one of the ancient archipelago's islands, in a relatively hostile environment.
"This would explain why nearly all the bones come from one species, and why there is a relatively high occurrence of healed fractures such as one we found in a rib.
"Possibly the animals were fighting each other due to a limited food source or perhaps they preyed on each other and bones were broken, but some individuals survived and their broken bones healed."
Like other clevosaurs the new species had self-sharpening dentition. With each bite, the teeth are sharpened as they cut past each other very precisely and as a result, they are left with sharp ridges of bone which they use as a cutting surface.
"The species name sectumsemper means 'always cut', and was chosen to reflect this," Ms Klein said.
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