What IS this creature?!?

A turtle? A beetle? Alien robot? ....?
grintersays...

Yeah, it looks to be a bat mimicking caterpillar.
Notice that it's walking on a palm leaf. Several species of bat partially chew through the base of palm fronds so that the fronds double over and form a tent that the bat can roost in during the day.

Couldn't find confirmation on google, but did find another person who also thinks this video is showing a bat mimic.

entr0pysays...

I translated the Chinese title of the video hoping for some clue what the hell it is. . . all I learned is that the Chinese are incredibly paranoid.

外國發現不明恐怖生物體,疑為變異所致

"Unidentified foreign terrorist organisms found, believed to be caused by variation."

iauisays...

I wonder what a turtle without a shell looks like... I think this animal kind of looks like that. Perhaps it has turtle ancestors who evolved to live without a shell? Perhaps due to the progressing acidification of the oceans and the ensuing difficulty of manufacturing shells?

I'm surprised nobody has answered this correctly in the like three days this video has been around.

What IS this thing? (;

grintersays...

^well done averageuser! It does look like hag moth/monkey slug caterpillar (genus Phobetron). And several species are listed for Brazil (I'm assuming that's Portuguese in the video)... although I couldn't find a picture of this species. Here is another Brazilian species:
http://www.galerie-insecte.org/galerie/ref-5615.htm
It is commonly guessed that they find some refuge from predators by resembling the discarded exoskeletons of spiders. I still say the one in the video looks like a bat.

Send this Article to a Friend



Separate multiple emails with a comma (,); limit 5 recipients






Your email has been sent successfully!

Manage this Video in Your Playlists




notify when someone comments
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
  
Learn More