#panacanthus cuspidatus

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Face-to-face with the devil: It’s nocturnal, has six spiny legs, and is omnivorous, meaning it doesn’t have a problem chowing down on other insects. The devil katydid (Panacanthus cuspidatus), featured in a recent post on Nat Geo’s Instagram, is “one of the most unreal insects I've photographed in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” says photographer Javier Aznar.

[terranlifeform]

[ecuadorlife]

Spiny devil katydid, Panacanthus cuspidatus from the Amazon rainforest near Puyo, Ecuador additional photos in higher resolution at www.flickr.com/andreaskay

[cool-critters]

Spiny devil katydid (Panacanthus cuspidatus)

No further informations found. photo credits: sarahvarmstrong, itsnature

[libutron]

Panacanthus cuspidatus | ©Robert Oelman   (Peruvian Amazon)

Resembling creatures summoned from science fiction, Neotropical katydids of the genus Panacanthus (Tettigoniidae) exhibit an astonishing appearance: robust spines, some branching, adorn their head, pronotum and legs. The evolutionary origin of spines is considered as a defensive mechanism in the genus Panacanthus.

P. cuspidatus is apparently widespread in the upper basin of the Amazon River, in Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.

[Source]