The Venezuelan Poodle Moth

The photograph above, taken by zoologist Arthur Anker, has been making the rounds online, as the bizarre creature looks straight out of a fantasy world.

The moth was spotted in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela’s Canaima National Park several years ago. While it’s hard to get a sense of scale from the picture, the moth is small at a mere 28-38 mm (a little more than an inch) and feeds on herbaceous plants.

With over 11,000 species of moth in the Arctiidae family, classifying the furry moth has proven difficult. It has drawn comparisons to a muslin moth, but its exact classification remains unknown. [NBC News]