A newly discovered crab has been after the wizards of "Harry Potter." Ex-Marine turned researcher, the late Harry Conley, found the tiny crustacean while digging the shores of Guam, the US territory in the western Pacific Ocean.

It took almost 20 years between the time Conley collected the crab and for the researcher to identify the crab as a new species according to Live Science.  Conley found the new species while digging in the coral rubble and rocks along the coast of Guam in the late 90s. Scientists have named the undescribed crustacean as Harryplax Severus after J.K Rowling's character Harry Potter and Harry Conley.

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The new crab measures 7.9 by 5.6 millimeters, according to researchers. Conley gave his vast collections of the species to Gustav Paulay, a marine curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who in turn gave the collection to Peter Ng, a biologist from the National University of Singapore who co-authored a paper about the discovery with Jose Christopher.Mendoza, another biologist at the National University of Singapore.

According to the authors, the newfound genus was named Harry due to two reasons. One, Harry Conley helped in advancing the marine science. Second, Harry Potter, the fictitious wizard, was known for his magical abilities, similar to the talent of Conley for discovering new or rare species. The idea to name the new species as Harry was initially proposed by Mendoza, according to Phys.

The new crab species is found deep in coral rubble or under subtidal rocks or cavities.It survives in deep depths but is adapted to the environment with the help of its well-developed antennae, small eyes, and the slender legs. Currently, the new species is known to be only from the island of Guam.

The new findings have been published online on the 23rd January edition of the journal Zookeys.