This exceedingly poisonous species of serpent, reputed to be the progeny of Medusa, is said to have venomous heads at either end of its elongated, worm-like body.

The Amphisbaena (also known as a worm lizard or, in Medieval bestiaries, Anphivena) is a poisonous, two-headed species of serpent with eyes that are said to “glow like candles.”

This appellation of “worm lizard” begs comparison to modern Amphisbaenidae, which (while decidedly mono-headed) look distinctly like reptilian earthworms and are found in most of the Western Hemisphere, some Caribbean islands and sub-Saharan Africa. There is even one primordial and rather unusual genus, Blanus, which is native to Europe, and may represent the original inspiration for the legends.

Tales of these ancient creatures come to us originally from Greek Mythology, where it is said that the Amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the severed head of the GORGON known as MEDUSA as the Legendary Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with his prize. It has also been chronicled that Cato’s army encountered the poison rife serpents on their renowned march.

Unlike other multiple headed beasts (such as the HYDRA,) this reptile’s torso does not split into separate necks, rather the animal is purported to have a head at each end of its body. In fact, its name — when translated from Greek — means “goes both ways.” Pliny the Elder, who first chronicled the creature sometime before A.D. 79, described the snake-like creature thusly:

“The amphisbaena has a twin head, that is one at the tail end as well, as though it were not enough for poison to be poured out of one mouth.”

The Amphisbaena is also reputed to have incredible regenerative capacities, which include the ability to weld itself back together if its two sections are severed. This may indicated that the animal is not a reptile at all, but perhaps more in line with parasitic worms (helminthes) of some variety.

The Amphisbaena is also reportedly capable of an extraordinary form of locomotion, whereby it’s two heads clamp onto on another enabling it to roll like a bicycle wheel. This trait, as many investigators have indicated in the past, bears an incredible likeness to the North American HOOP SNAKE.

English author and physician, Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) further described the Amphisbaena’s bizarre attributes in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica:

“(The Amphisbaena is) a smaller kind of Serpent, which moveth forward and backward, hath two heads… Which double formations do often happen unto multiparous generations, more especially that of Serpents; whose productions being numerous, and their Eggs in chains or links together (which sometime conjoin and inoculate into each other) they may unite into various shapes and come out in mixed formations.”

Beastiaries from the Medieval era also chronicle the Amphisbaena, but there it as more often described as a two-headed lizard, or even a multi-headed serpent, with elements of a fowl – a description which closely resembles the notoriously toxic BASILISK. The creature has been referred to as the “mother of ants”, because it’s particular fondness for the insect delicacy.

The medical properties of the Amphisbaena were also recorded. According to Pliny, the wearing of a live Amphisbaena is a supposed safeguard in pregnancy, and draping a dead one across your neck is an alleged remedy for rheumatism. Those who ate the meat of this creature were said to become irresistible to the opposite gender and anyone of pure heart who had the fortune of slaying an Amphisbaena during a full moon would allegedly gain remarkable powers.