Wyvern vs. Basilisk — What's the Difference?

A wyvern ( WY-vərn, sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary bipedal winged dragon usually depicted with a tail ending in a diamond- or arrow-shaped tip.The wyvern in its various forms is important to heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada). It is a popular creature in European literature, video games, and modern fantasy.

In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who can cause death with a single glance. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene is a small snake, "being not more than twelve fingers in length", that is so venomous, it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal.

A two-legged dragon having wings and a barbed tail.

A legendary serpent or dragon with lethal breath and glance.

A draconian creature possessing wings, only two legs and usually a barbed tail.

Any of various tropical American lizards of the genus Basiliscus, having a crest on the head and back and fringes of skin around the toes of the hind feet that enable it to run upright across the surface of water for short distances.

Same as Wiver.

A mythical snake-like dragon, so venomous that even its gaze was deadly.

A fire-breathing dragon used in medieval heraldry; had the head of a dragon and the tail of a snake and a body with wings and two legs

(science fiction) An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.

(heraldry) A type of dragon used in heraldry.

A tree-dwelling type of lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.

A type of large brass cannon.

Suggesting a basilisk (snake-like dragon): baleful, spellbinding.

A fabulous serpent, or dragon. The ancients alleged that its hissing would drive away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look, was fatal. See Cockatrice.

A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the family Iguanidæ.

A large piece of ordnance, so called from its supposed resemblance to the serpent of that name, or from its size.

(classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance

Ancient brass cannon

Small crested arboreal lizard able to run on its hind legs; of tropical America