Basiliscus amoratus is a fictional species of basilisk lizard invented by Michael Crichton in the Jurassic Park novel.
Martin "Marty" Guitierrez 'identifies' the lizard (actually a Procompsognathus) that attacked Tina Bowman as a Basiliscus amoratus.
According to Dr. Guitierrez, the lizard can be found in Costa Rica and also in Honduras. It occasionally walks or runs on its hind legs and it is not poisonous, though, like all reptiles, its saliva can induce a very painful allergic reaction.
Basiliscus is a genus of lizards. 4 species are documented so far :
- Common basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus)
- Western or Red-headed basilisk (Basiliscus galeritus)
- Plumed, Green, or Double crested basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons)
- Brown or Striped basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus )
No species named Basiliscus amoratus is documented yet. But basilisks can sometimes run bipedally, as the novel implied. Their stance, however, would be very different to that of a habitual biped such as a theropod dinosaur, and (as the novel makes clear) there are other differences like the number of toes and length of neck and tail.
