That was a basilisk?

[pegruppel]

No: HPFGUIDX 57922

Becky Walkden <runningbecky2002 at y...> wrote:
> 
> Now that somebody has mentioned the basilisk, I may be wrong  but 
aren't basilisk's actually lizards and not snakes?  I wonder what 
mythological animal book Ms. Rowlings got that basilisk snake from?  
Oh well.  Snakes, lizards, at least their all reptiles.  Huggs Becky
> 

Me:

Well, the *real* basilisk is, in fact, a small lizard.  Native to 
Australia, I *think.*  Sorry, I don't have a reference to hand right 
now.  It's completely harmless.  I'm not sure how it got that 
particular nickname.

The mythological basilisk (as it appears in CoS) is exactly as JKR 
describes it--a great, venomous serpent with a deadly stare, hatched 
from an egg incubated under a toad.

So, you were right--the basilisk of reality is a lizard.  And JKR is 
right--the mythical basilisk is a serpent.

Cheers!

Peg