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Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places |
Amphiptere
| Description | A
serpent with wings. It is said to guard Frankincense trees in
Arabia.
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| Also called | Jaculus-
a snake which climbs up into trees and flings itself down on other animals
that pass by. Pliny, on the Jaculus: "the javelin snake
hurls itself from the branches of trees."
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| In Reality |
In Madagascar, which is known for its unique species of
animals, particularly snakes, there is a snake called the
fandrefiala which will fall tail first from a tree like a
spear and stab animals the pass underneath according to the local
legends.
see: http://www.madagascar-travel.net/feature03.html There is a bird called a Quetzal that lives in South and Central America. Its tail is bright green and can be up to three feet long. The Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl is a winged serpent in the legends of the Olmec, Mixtec, Toltec, and Aztec cultures.
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| Another Picture |
Picture by Marie Smith-Vining. Click on picture for larger image (100k) |
