  A possibility of a nonlinear resonant instability of uniform oscillations in
dynamical lattices with harmonic intersite coupling and onsite nonlinearity is
predicted. Numerical simulations of a lattice with a double-well onsite
anharmonic potential confirm the existence of the nonlinear instability with an
anomalous value of the corresponding power index, 1.57, which is intermediate
between the values 1 and 2 characterizing the linear and nonlinear (quadratic)
instabilities. The anomalous power index may be a result of competition between
the resonant quadratic instability and nonresonant linear instabilities. The
observed instability triggers transition of the lattice into a chaotic
dynamical state.
