That was a basilisk?

[ajlboston]

No: HPFGUIDX 57953

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pegruppel" <pegruppel at y...> 
wrote:
> 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?
> 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.


Lizards in the Basilik family (Basilicus basilicus, Chrispalo cherepo 
basilisk, etc.) are from Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, 
etc.) and are sometimes called Jesus Christ Lizards because they can 
run over water for short stretches when they need to elude 
predators.  Males (such as the Brown Basilisk you might see at a pet 
store) have hadrosaurlike crests, whence the name, I believe.

A.J.