Acromantula

An Acromantula was a giant magical species of spider native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia, particularly Borneo, where it inhabited dense jungles. Acromantulas were 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 had a taste for human flesh and were first spotted in 1794.

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

They possessed a set of giant pedipalps, which they used to eat live prey or their own dead kin. Their pincers produced a clicking sound when they were agitated or excited. They also secreted poison when excited. They were sentient, and capable of human speech.

Their fangs contained highly toxic venom, valued at 100 Galleons a pint in 1996.

The female was usually larger than the male, and could lay up to one-hundred soft, wide, beach-ball sized eggs at a time. They usually hatched in six to eight weeks. Acromantula eggs were a Class A Non-Tradeable Goods.

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

Acromantulas were capable of forming emotional attachments to other sentient beings, but only if they were raised well from a very young age. A good example was the friendship between Aragog and Hagrid, with the latter having raised the giant spider from when he was still in his egg. However, this friendship did not automatically extend to people associated with whoever managed to win the respect of an Acromantula, nor did other members of a colony automatically treat said person as friend, as they would first and foremost treat humans and other sentient beings like prey. This was demonstrated after Aragog died, as 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 died, their corpse was eaten by the other spiders upon death. This included the leaders of a colony. It was not known if a dead Acromantula was mourned by other members of its species, so it cannot be said for certain if this was a funeral rite or simply a way to acquire food.

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

Acromantulas tended to reside in thick jungles and heavily forested areas, and their webs were large and dome-shaped.

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.