basilisk

noun

• 1a mythical reptile with a lethal gaze or breath, hatched by a serpent from a cock’s egg.
• Heraldryanother term for cockatrice.

• 2a long, slender, and mainly bright green lizard found in Central America, the male of which has a crest running from the head to the tail. It can swim well, and is able to run on its hind legs across the surface of water.

  • Basiliscus plumifrons, family Iguanidae