BASILISK, Basiliseus, in modern zoology, a genus of saurian reptiles of the family of iguanidft (see IGUANA), differing from the iguanas in the avant of the dewlap or appendage of skin under throat, and of the series of the pores on the inside of each thigh; also in having a continuous elevated crest along the back and tail, capable of being erected or depressed at pleasure, and apparently intended to aid the motions of the animal in water like the corresponding 1.1u of a fish.—The basilisks are remark ably adapted both for climbing trees and for swimming. Their feet are not webbed, their toes rather They are perfectly harmless creatures, active and lively, and it is dhlicult to say why they should have received the name of the fabulous monster of antiquity, unless because their appearance is far from agreeable to those unaccustomed to it, and perhaps because an appendage at the back of the head may have been thought to represent the crown of the dragon king.
This appendage is most conspicuously developed in the mitred or hooded B. (B. mitratus), a native of the tropical parts of America, and consists of a hood or membranous bag, capable of being dilated with air, and then about the size of a pullet's egg, which is supposed, notwithstanding its extremely different situation, to have a use somewhat analogous to that of the air-bladder of fishes. The mitred B. is from 25 to 30 in. long, including the long and very tail. Another and larger species, of a gen erally greenish color (B. Amboinensis), inhabits the islands of the radian archipelago, and is much used there for food. Its flesh is said to be very and tender. It is often seen on the branches of trees above water, into which it drops when alarmed.