Gum Snout Moth Caterpillar from Australia

Subject: what is this other than a giant scary horned caterpillar
Location: Perth Western Australia
April 24, 2014 3:31 am
Hi! Hoping you can help me out. Saw this creature/monster crawling across my lawn late this afternoon. Its the second one we’ve seen and we’re really curious as to what it will be! It was about 3 inches long (maybe slightly more) and slightly furry looking. Almost like felt. The pics make it look purple but it was more of a beige colour with a bit of red/tan. And those horns!!! Any ideas?
Signature: Nicole

Hi Nicole,
We struggled a bit on this identification, but we eventually found some images of your Gum Snout Moth Caterpillar, Entometa fervens, on the Butterfly House website where it states:  “This is a large fleshy Caterpillar with soft downy hairs. It is sometimes smooth, sometimes rough, sometimes brown, and sometimes mottled with cream and grey. The variable nature of the caterpillars suggests that the name Entometa fervens is being applied to a complex of several species. More investigation is needed to clarify this.  The caterpillar has a prominent projection on the back near the posterior end, and a pair of fleshy filaments behind the head. It is solitary, and feeds at night on a variety of Gum Trees.”  The image on the Queensland Museum site through us off as it looks so different from your images.  It is also pictured on the Brisbane Insect website.

Hi Daniel
Thanks very much for taking the time to identify this. Not knowing was killing me J
I have never heard of one of those and have never ever seen anything like this beauty before.
Thanks again for the wonderfully prompt service.
Kindest regards
Nicole J