Aussies convinced man finds real-life Pokémon

Pokémon Go became a global phenomenon in 2016 as Aussies searched the country for rare characters in an augmented reality world. And while the pandemonium subsided as time went on, it appears one man in Canberra may just be playing the game for real years later.

That's according to Reddit users who were impressed by the likeness of a caterpillar he found with that of the Pokémon Caterpie.

"It’s good to see that people are still playing Pokémon Go," one person said tongue-in-cheek after the man shared a photo of his discovery online.

The caterpillar is in fact a Hawk Moth caterpillar, which are renowned for their large eye-like markings. This particular one is the Hippotion celerio species, or more commonly known as the Vine Hawk Moth caterpillar.

Experts explain reason behind large cartoon-style eyes

Dr Darrell Kemp from Macquarie University told Yahoo last month the striking eye markings are a defence tactic to deter predators.

"The eyespots are most likely used as a startling effect, again designed to deter predators by giving the appearance of a larger (potentially dangerous) animal," he said. "They could be used in conjunction with a rapid display behaviour that the larva does when threatened – a so-called deimatic display."

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Andrew Mitchell, an entomologist at the Australian Museum, said the caterpillars can often be confused for miniature snakes.

"When threatened they puff up the front of their body, raise it into the air, suck the head in a bit, and can look quite convincingly like a snake when viewed front on — some species even hiss and strike at you," he said. "But they’re completely harmless of course."

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