But fiercely hiffing, thro' the poifon'd air 

 The Bafiliik exerts his deathful glare : 

 At diftance bids each vulgar peft remain, 

 And reigns foie monarch of his fultry plain. 



But the animal known in modern natural hiftory by 

 this name is a fpecies of lizard, of a very lingular 

 fhape, and which is particularly diftinguifhed by a long 

 and broad wing-like procefs or expanfion continued 

 along the whole length of the back, and to a very con- 

 fiderable diftance on the upper part of the tail, and fur- 

 nifhed at certain diftances with internal radii analogous 

 to thofe in the fins of fifties, or ftill more fo to thofe 

 in the wings of the draco volans or flying lizard. This 

 procefs is of different elevation in different parts, fo 

 as to appear ftrongly finuated and indented, and is ca- 

 pable of being either dilated or contracted at the plea- 

 fure of the animal. The occiput or hind part of the 

 head is elevated into a very confpicuous pointed hood 

 or hollow creft. Notwithftanding its formidable ap- 

 pearance the Bafiliik is a perfectly harmlefs animal, 

 and like many other of the lizard tribe, refides prin- 

 cipally amongft trees, where it feeds on infects, &c. 

 It is a native of South America. It has long ago been 

 admirably figured by Seba, and as it is an extremely 

 rare fpecies, has fometimes been confidered, (from 

 the ftrangenefs of its form) as a fictitious reprefenta- 

 tion. There is however in the Britifh Mufeum a very 

 fine fpecimen, well preferved in fpirits, and which 

 fully confirms the excellency of Seba's figure; from 

 which, in all probability, Linnaeus himfelf, (who 

 never faw the animal,) took his fpecific defcription. 



The 



