The Basilisk is also said to be so incredibly poisonous that it leaves behind a burning trail of venom everywhere it goes and indeed this is how one could identity a Basilisk's hole - due to the ground being scorched around it. The only way folklore said that a Basilisk could be harmed or driven away was via the odour of a weasel, presumably due to the fact weasels are natural predators of lizards and snakes (especially the mongoose). The word "Basilisk" in science refers to Basiliscus, a South American genus of lizard containing four species