appearance=[[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Chamber of Secrets|''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'']]}}
== Overview ==
A '''''Basilisk''''' — otherwise known as the King of Serpents — is a bright green snake, which can grow to an enormous size. It is a rare, wizard-bred creature, born from a chicken egg hatched beneath a toad; the creation of them is illegal and falls under the Ban on Experimental Breeding. Males are distinguishable from females by the bright red plume on their foreheads. Basilisks have long, poisonous fangs and shed their skin at intervals.