The love of the show/game Pokemon has literally become a global phenomenon, as was demonstrated when the Pokemon game for smart phones came out and so many people were obsessed with it that some actually died in their relentless pursuit to “catch em all.” I’ll admit, I also downloaded the game, but have yet to actually chase down these critters all over town. So, imagine the fervor that would erupt if there were an actual Pokemon looking creature out there! Well, you no longer have to imagine it because the bug world has already happily provided one. And as luck would have it the pokemon this being resembles is the star himself/herself, Pikachu!

Yes, Pokemon have existed for centuries and we never even knew it. Of course, it also happens to be an arachnid, one of the most hated of bug creatures. But even those arachnophobes out there will want to check this spider out. The spider in question isn’t even one that hadn’t been discovered yet, but has been around for a while and is quite common. How has no one noticed this critter before?

All you Pokemon fans out there need to look up the Micrathena sagittata, or Arrowshaped Micrathena, spider. The females of this species have backsides that look like a dead-on mirror of the Pokemon called Pikachu’s head. To be more specific, this lady’s behind is shaped of a squirrel-like creatures head, with two horns/ears protruding from the top of its head. What’s more, this section of the spider’s body happens to be colored a bright yellow, with little black tips on the ears, making it a dead ringer for everyone’s favorite Pokemon.

This spider is not the result of some strange genetic experiment either. You can find one of these bright yellow ladies all over North America, as well as Canada and all the way down through Central America. They tend to hang out “among shrubs and other foliage” of “deciduous woodlands and forest edges.” Now fans of Pokemon, and particularly the Pokemon Go game, can go on a real-life hunt for them. It’s as if fiction has crossed over into reality and we’re all living in some hybrid fantastical/realistic world filled with brightly colored monsters/cute critters. Do dragons exist too?!

Have you ever spotted an insect or spider that closely resembled a creature from fantasy?