Assassin Bug
Adult, anterior
Ellura
Assassin Bug
Instar, dorsal
 
                      
Assassin Bug (Oncocephalus sp ES01)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: True Bugs (Hemiptera)
Family: Assassin Bug (Cimicomorpha, Reduviidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Assassin Bug (Oncocephalus sp ES01)
This Photo:     Adult, ventral

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Adult ~15mm long.
Interesting bugs Assassins (Reduviidae), one of the few predatory/carnivorous true bugs (order Hemiptera). Most are vegetarian.
One easy diagnostic difference over the similiar Alydidae family are the large front legs as can be seen here; used to hold it's prey. Not all assassins have them, but no Alydidae's do.
A more guaranteed diagnostic, but harder to see, is that Assassin's have a curved rostrum / proboscis

Copyright © 2015-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 10-Nov-2015
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.