MuggleNet | Creatures J-R

This section contains a listing of all of the magical beasts known in the magical world. Information credit "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by Newt Scamander. See anything in this section which isn't correct? Let Andy know!

The department for the ~Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures gives classification to all known beasts, beings and spirits. These offer an at-a-glance guide to the percieved dangerouss of a creature. The five catagories are as follows:

This is a smallish mammal which resembles a ferret, although it has the unusual ability of speech. It is useless trying to talk to a Jarvey, however, as it cannot hold a true conversation and limits its output to a constant stream of rude and abusive phrases. Jarveys eat rats, moles and voles, which presumably they insult before consumption.

This is a small blue bird which feeds on insects. At the moment of its death, the Jobberknoll emits a scream made up of every sound it has ever heard, recounted backwards. This is the only noise it ever makes. Because of this ability, Jobberknoll feathers are used for Truth and Memory potions.

The Kappa resembles a scaly monkey in appearance. It inhabits ponds and rivers and feeds on human blood, which makes it a rather dangerous creature. The Kappa has a hollow in the top of its head which contains water – this is the key to its strength. If the animal can be tricked into bowing, the water will run out and the strength of the Kappa will be lost. Kappas originated in Japan.

This is a water demon which has the ability to change shape at will. Kelpies often choose to appear as a horse with bulrushes for its mane, although they can also take the form of a sea-serpent. The Kelpie preys on humans, attempting to trick them into riding on its back. They then carry them below the surface of the water and eat them. A bridle placed over the head of the creature will make it passive.

This looks and acts like a hedgehog. It is, however, prone to fits of vandalism against garden plants and ornaments.

This is a cat-like creature, although it has unusually large ears and a lion’s tail. It is intelligent and can be aggressive, although if it is attracted to a witch or wizard it can be domesticated and kept as a pet. Kneazles interbreed with Muggle cats, and Hermione Granger’s pet Crookshanks is such a crossbreed.

These are small insects with large wings. They are often used as an ingredient in potions.

Leprechauns are another type of small mischievous humanoid. They have two distinguishing characteristics: firstly, they can speak. Secondly, they can produce fake gold which disappears after a few hours. Giving away fake gold is one of their favourite pranks.

Lethifold XXXXX

This is a tropical creature which hunts for prey at night. It looks like a black shroud which glides along the ground. When it finds a victim (usually a sleeping human), it attempts to smother them by blocking their breathing. Once dead, the prey is eaten and digested on the spot. The Lethifold leaves no trace of its attack and the victim seems simply to have disappeared. The only known defence against it is the Patronus charm.

This is an ocean-dwelling creature, resident in the North Sea. It is around 10 inches long and has a venom sac, which it uses to shoot poison at its attacker when threatened. Merpeople are known to use the Lobalug as a weapon.

This is a coastline-dwelling creature which looks something like a lobster. It reaches a length of around 12 inches and feeds on small crustaceans. The bite of the Malaclaw makes the victim unlucky for a period of up to a week.

The Manticore has the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. It is highly dangerous and also impervious to most magic. The sting kills instantly. Hagrid cross-bred the Manticore with the Fire Crab to produce Blast-Ended Skrewts, although how exactly he managed this is unclear.

Merpeople XXXX

These are intelligent creatures with their own culture and language, who are classified as “beasts” due to their own preference. Merpeople have the head and torso of a human but the tail of a fish. They speak in the Mermish language and live in organised communities in both freshwater and saltwater locations. Different cultures around the world have their own interests and traditions, although all Merpeople are united in their love of music. Merpeople are also known as Sirens, Selkies and Merrows in different parts of the world.

The Moke is a small silver-green lizard which has the ability to shrink at will. Moke skin is much sought-after for use in purse-making.

The Mooncalf lives in burrows and goes above ground only by the light of the full moon. It has four legs and very large feet. It performs a complicated dance as a pre-mating ritual, a practice which tends to leave complex patterns in wheat fields, known to Muggles as crop circles. Mooncalf dung is an excellent fertilizer for use with magical crops.

When Professor Lupin’s class were learning about defence from Boggarts, the appearance the creature took on to frighten Parvati Patil was that of a mummy. This is an animated bandage-covered corpse, and hence is unlikely to be considered a genuine “beast”, although it is included here for completeness. Such animation of a corpse is likely to be achieved only through Dark magic.

A Murtlap looks something like a rat, and is native to coastal areas of Britain. Its most interesting feature is the anemone-like growth on its back, which can be picked and eaten to provide resistance to curses. It would also appear to have healing properties, as Hermione treats the injuries Harry sustained in his detention with Professor Umbridge with essence of Murtlap. An overdose of Murtlap essence can lead to an outbreak of purple ear hair.

The Nargle infests clumps of mistletoe and may or may not exist only in the over-active imagination of Luna Lovegood.

It is unclear what these look like or what they do, but Magical Menagerie can provide advice on their care.

This is a small burrowing animal which is strongly attracted to anything shiny. They are gentle in nature, but can cause a good deal of destruction in the pursuit of glittery objects. Nifflers are often used by Goblins to dig for treasure, as their burrowing abilities are exceptional.

This is a European demon which resembles a piglet and preys on farms. It will attempt to find a regular sow and suckle with its own young, and the farm will suffer a blight for as long as the Nogtail is there. Nogtails are fast and difficult to catch, but if it is chased from the farm by a pure white dog it will not return.

This is a huge leopard-like creature resident in Africa. It moves silently and has disease-carrying breath so potent that it can wipe out whole villages at a stroke.

The Occamy is a winged serpent which can reach a length of up to 15 feet. It lays eggs made of fine silver and will become very aggressive in defence of them. The Occamy feeds on rats and birds, and is native to the Far East and India.

This is not strictly a magical creature, as it is well known to Muggles. Wizards, however, enjoy a far closer relationship with the Owl than Muggles do. Owls are used for communication between wizards, acting as a wizard-to-wizard postal service. Letters, parcels and Howlers are all delivered this way. Owls have a good level of comprehension, as they are able to understand who to take any messages to, and are also able to find them no matter where they are. As well as personal communication, Owls are also used for commercial purposes, such as the Owl Post Office, and the delivery of newspapers and magazines such as the Daily Prophet.

The Phoenix is a large scarlet bird with a gold tail, beak and talons. Its most startling feature is its ability to regenerate itself: it bursts into flame when its body becomes old and rises from the ashes as a new-born chick. This allows these birds to grow to a great age. The Phoenix can disappear and re-appear at will, and also boasts magical tears and song. The tears have potent healing capabilities, able to bring a person back even from the brink of death, whilst the song will increase the courage of the good and strike fear into the hearts of the evil.

The Pixie is, like the Imp and the Leprechaun, a small mischievous humanoid creature. It grows up to 8 inches in height and can fly, even though it is wingless. Pixies delight in jokes and tricks, all the time emitting a high-pitched babbling which is understood only by other Pixies.

This is a spherical fish which has two rubbery legs and webbed feet. The Plimpy prowls lake-beds searching for food, particularly water snails. Merpeople regard the Plimpy as a pest and tie its legs together, causing it to drift away.

This is a Russian demon which has a large smooth grey head that resembles a rock. Pogrebins follow humans by staying in their shadow and crouching down to look like a rock if their victim turns round. The effect on the human of being tailed by a Pogrebin is an overwhelming sense of despair. The Pogrebin waits until its prey sinks to their knees to weep at the futility of it all, and then jumps on them and attempts to eat them. The best way to deal with a Pogrebin is with any attacking hex or a good kick.

This is a horse-guardian from England. It has shaggy fur and a very large nose, and walks on two legs. It lives only to guard the herd of horses it has chosen to protect.

This is a passive spherical creature often kept as a pet by wizard children. Its body is covered in soft fur and it is quite happy to be thrown about. It has an extraordinary long tongue which it uses to scour its surroundings looking for food. By choice it prefers to locate the noses of sleeping humans and eat their bogies.

Legend states that the Quintaped came about as the result of a feud between two wizarding families on the Isle of Drear, Scotland. The McClivert clan are said to have transfigured the whole of the MacBoon clan into hideous beasts in a revenge attack. It is unclear whether this is true or not, but the Quintaped is sometimes known as the Hairy MacBoon, and nobody can get near enough to one without being killed to attempt to untransfigure it. The Quintaped is large, hairy and looks like a five-legged spider. It is extremely aggressive and has a particular taste for human flesh, as the McCliverts found to their cost (if the legend is true).

The Ramora is a silver fish resident in the Indian Ocean. It is a guardian of seafarers and is powerfully magical.

It is unclear whether Rats are approved pets at Hogwarts. Harry’s instructions in his first year stated that he could choose between an Owl, a Cat or a Toad. Ron, however, had Scabbers (who at least pretended to be a rat) as his pet and nobody seemed put out. Having said this, there are no records of any other students having Rats as pets.

These are small dwarf-like creatures which can be found wherever there has been bloodshed. Any wizard should be able to repel them easily enough, but they prey on Muggles, attempting to batter them to death.

Re’em are exceptionally rare, but can be found by the fortunate in North America and the Far East. They look like giant oxen, but have a golden hide. Re’em blood bestows great strength on the drinker, although due to the scarcity of the animal it is difficult to come by.

This is a three-headed serpent which can grow to around 6 or 7 feet in length. The three heads each serve their own purpose: the left head is the planner – it takes decisions about what the Runespoor will do next; the middle head is a dreamer – the creature is fond of idling away time in fantasies; the right head is a critic – it appraises the work of the other two heads, usually unfavourably. Conflicts between the heads are common, and the Runespoor rarely lives to an old age. Runespoor eggs are greatly prized and used in potions to stimulate mental agility.

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