newt scamander fantastic beasts and where to find them newt

If that doesn’t seem like a magical creature to you, I don’t know what is. They have a unique property among (Muggle) vertebrates in that they can regrow entire limbs. It is possible that the magical world may have been remiss in allowing Muggles to continue to be aware of salamanders. According to Fantastic Beasts, Salamanders are “small fire-dwelling lizards that feed on flames.” In the Muggle world salamanders are amphibians it is important to note all newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts - “salamander” is the name for an entire group of animals, whereas newts are a subset of that group. Scamander sounds a lot like “salamander” – which has both a Muggle and magical meaning. Lastly, “Scamander” ties up Newt’s name nicely. Artemis was referred to by Homer as “Artemis of the Wildland, Mistress of animals.” Artemis was also known as the goddess of the Moon, possibly hinting at Newt’s later work with the Ministry in creating a Werewolf Register. “Artemis” is the second of Newt’s middle names. This might underline his connection to Hufflepuff house while also being a common name for pet dogs (possibly popularized by Abraham Lincoln). “Fido” is one of Newt’s middle names and literally means “I trust” in latin.

Interestingly, one of Attenborough’s earliest contributions to zoology entailed newts – Attenborough “aged 11… heard that the zoology department needed a large supply of newts, which he offered via his father to supply for 3d a newt.” This may or may not have anything to do with Newt’s name, but it is an interesting connection between a great Muggle naturalist and a great wizarding magizoologist. Newt at the same age “spent hours in his bedroom dismembering Horklumps” ( Fantastic Beasts ix). David Attenborough, like Newt, displayed a keen interest in the natural world as a child and had collected fossils, stones, and other natural specimens by the age of seven. Newt’s name might also tie him to another famous naturalist. NEWT is also the acronym for the exams Hogwarts students take in their seventh year, possibly alluding to Newt Scamander’s intellect. A famous line from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail mentions newts: A man accuses a woman of being a witch by exclaiming, “She turned me into a newt!” before adding, “I got better.” This might be a subtle homage to that scene. In fact, she had wanted Monty Python’s director Terry Gilliam to direct the Harry Potter movies. Rowling is known to have admired Monty Python. The performance of “Double Trouble” in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Newt scamander fantastic beasts and where to find them newt