My insect identifier app got it very wrong with something that looked nothing like this strange insect. I found this at the beach in the Maret Islands, Kimberley.
Great closeup. My app can’t identify it either. But it looks like it has 8 legs??? So not an insect. I could be species of spider or scorpion or other arachnid.
@johnfalconer I have looked back at two other photos I managed to get of this strange looking insect and in the other photos there are clearly six legs, so definitely an insect of some sort. Using each of the three photos in the insect identifying app comes up with a different insect and none of them are correct! A mystery.
For those who are interested I have actually I have found something on a website for the Australian Museum:
A plant hopper is an insect in the group of Fulgoromorpha within the bug order Hemiptera. The group contains only a single superfamily Fulgoroidea.
The Superfamily Fulgoroidea contains large number of insects of very diverse forms. All of them are strong jumpers and commonly called Planthoppers. Their antennae situated beneath eyes. There is a unique character in this group: for all species, the base segment of the antenna is much thicker than the rest of the antenna.
A very interesting creature and something completely new to me. When identifying, consider that insects go through several stages of development. In complete metamorphosis, the larva may be completely different from the imago.
A plant hopper is an insect in the group of Fulgoromorpha within the bug order Hemiptera. The group contains only a single superfamily Fulgoroidea.
The Superfamily Fulgoroidea contains large number of insects of very diverse forms. All of them are strong jumpers and commonly called Planthoppers. Their antennae situated beneath eyes. There is a unique character in this group: for all species, the base segment of the antenna is much thicker than the rest of the antenna.