Venezuelan Poodle Moth
Photo: Arthur
Anker/Flickr
Is that mothra as a baby? Zoologist Arthur Anker of Brazil’s Federal
University snapped this fantastic photo of a Venezuelan poodle moth or
muslin moth in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela’s Canaima National
Park:
It’s been compared to a fluffy dog, a Pokemon character and a Power
Rangers villain — but whatever it is, the Venezuelan poodle moth
has captured the Internet like Mothra
in a bad Japanese movie. Now it’s up to the experts to figure out exactly
where this moth belongs on the tree
of life.The first thing to emphasize is that the poodle moth is no phony concoction
like the jackalope,
dogerpillar
or chupacabra.
Its cute, furry, scary look is totally in line with what’s expected
for a neotropical ornamental moth. In fact, cryptozoologist Karl Shuker
found a similar picture of a white, fuzzy critter known as Diaphora
mendica, or muslin moth, a member of the lepidopteran family Arctiidae.
Alan Boyle of Cosmic Log has more: Link
| Karl
Shuker’s blog post
See also: World’s
Weirdest Moths
