The Asphynx is one of two monsters added in SLASH'EM that share the cockatrice's petrification attacks. An asphynx is capable of killing you in the same way a cockatrice is; touching a living or deceased asphynx with an exposed part of your body is instadeath, and the asphynx causes delayed petrification in the same manner as a cockatrice. See the article on the cockatrice for specifics of petrification.