Basilisk

The basilisk is a european monster, said to hatch from an egg laid by a rooster and incubated by a lizard....
Another animal, called a Cocatrice, is seemingly almost interchangeable with the Basilisk, though the Cocatrice is hatched from an egg laid by a lizard and hatched by a rooster... Both can turn men to stone with a look, curdle milk and whatnot. Supposedly the only creature able to stand up to them is the Weasel, because of it's smell!

Sometimes a Basilisk is depicted as more lizard-like, or without wings, but often the basilisk and cocatrice are identical and the words are used interchangeably. Thought to be more of an alchemical creature- meaning it wasn't necessarily believed to be REAL but used as a metaphor for some chemical/magical transformation.

Not to be confused with the real live Basilisk lizard which has a frilled collar flap and took it's name after the mythical beastie, I believe..