A BIZARRE caterpillar with the head of a mouse has been captured on camera.

The eye-opening sight has quickly notched up over 317,000 views on YouTube after footage of the weird larva went viral.

3 The tiny caterpillar, positioned next to a lighter, left viewers startled Credit: Central European News

Alexander Emelyanov, from the port city of Odessa in south-western Ukraine, witnessed the strange creature and grabbed his mobile phone to record it.

He said: "The surface of its skin is smooth, but not entirely, to be honest it feels a bit like the body of a snake. There is a bent sting at the back side of the body.

“It attacks with it while twisting around and folding up when touched. When it feels threatened it raises the front part (of its body)."

But it was the head of the caterpillar that looked like a mouse which attracted the most attention.

3 The creature was captured on mobile phone footage by a lad in the Ukraine Credit: Central European News

3 Its unusual mouse-like appearance is because it is an elephant hawk moth caterpillar Credit: Central European News

Social media user ‘Lavr Lavr’ said: "You should wait for more people, this is just the beginning."

While ‘Anton Miroshnichenko’ commented: "Oh, please enough of this sensation. This is a caterpillar of Deilephila elpenor. Prior writing a story like that it is better to do a quick reference check with professional biologists."

While ‘Da’ mentioned: "Look, mice are mutating. People are mutating. They get wild and start hissing like snakes."

After the bizarre video ended up online, it was picked up by local media who contacted experts to identify the creature.

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They confirmed it was indeed a Deilephila elpenor, also known as an elephant hawk moth.

The name is derived from the caterpillar's resemblance to an elephant's trunk rather than for its mouse-like head.

It is surprisingly relatively common in central Europe, with the olive and pink colouring of the parent making it relatively easy to spot although it is only nocturnal.

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