A small, brilliant white, fire-dwelling lizard that feeds on flame, although it can survive up to six hours outside a fire if regularly fed pepper. A salamander lives only as long as the fire from which it sprang, scampering along burning logs and among the coals, and its colour appears blue or scarlet depending on the heat of the fire in which it appeared. Salamander blood has powerful curative and restorative properties (FB, CS8).

Fred and George once fed fireworks to one just to see what would happen; it was orange (CS8). Hagrid once provided a bonfire full of them for his third year Care of Magical Creatures class (PA12).

A gigantic (can grow to a hundred feet in length), snake-like beast with a horselike head and a long snakelike body rising in humps out of the sea as it moves through the water; found in the Atlantic, Mediterrean, and Pacific Oceans. The sea serpent has received very bad Muggle press, in this case unjustified. Although many Muggle legends have grown up around sightings of the creatures, usually tales of horror and death, in reality sea serpents are harmless; there is no record of a sea serpent ever harming a human. See also the Loch Ness kelpie (FB).

See Dragons - Swedish Short-Snout.

A magically-created species of saltwater fish, found in the Atlantic Ocean, which is covered in spines and which deliberately seeks out and destroys Muggle fishing nets. The first shrake were supposedly created in the 1800s by a group of wizard fisherfolk who had been insulted by Muggles. The shrake, by damaging the nets used by Muggles to fish in that area of the sea, cause no end of trouble (FB).

Poisonous orange snails were for sale in the Magical Menagerie; they could have been streelers (PA4, FB).

• ashwinder
• basilisk
• boa constrictor - Harry accidentally released from the zoo, frightening Dudley half to death and resulting in a severe punishment from Uncle Vernon (PS2)
• dragon
• Nagini
• occamy
• runespoor
• sea serpent
• c.f. Serpensortia

Parseltongue (see) is the language of snakes (CS11).

A small, spherical bird which can fly with amazing agility, changing speed and direction almost instantaneously. Its golden feathers and red, jewel-like eyes are so prized that at one time the snidget was hunted almost to extinction. The fact that a snidget became such an integral part of the game of Quidditch (and usually died when it was caught) didn't help matters either. The snidget became a protected species; there are now severe penalties for harming or even capturing one. Snidget reserves have been set up worldwide, and a magical device, the Golden Snitch, has replaced the live bird in Quidditch (FB, QA).

Native to Egypt, this human-headed creature has a lion-like body, the capacity for human speech, and an innate love of puzzles and riddles, but due to its violent tendencies it has been placed in the 'beast' rather than the 'being' category (FB).

The sphinx has been used by wizarding folk for centuries to guard treasure, and is noted for violence when that which it guards is threatened (FB). In the opinion of one of the Bestiary's editors, the sphinx is very probably a wizard-bred species rather than a naturally occurring one, given the remarks made by Scamander in his footnote on acromantulas (FB), but we have no definite information on that point.

A female sphinx was stationed in the Triwizard maze both to guard the closest approach to the center and to provide a hint about the last monster guarding the Triwizard Cup. She required an answer to a riddle; once the riddle was solved, she calmly let Harry pass by (GF31).

Gringotts has been known to place sphinxes to guard some of the vaults, much to the consternation of those who want access to their valuables and aren't particularly good at riddles (DP).

The largest invertebrate known to Muggle science, the giant squid can grow to 70 feet. Speaking more specifically, at least one giant squid lives in the lake near Hogwarts castle, and seems to be more or less friendly toward the inhabitants.

• the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan tickle its tentacles (PS16)
• lazily crosses the lake (PA22)
• rescues Dennis Creevey (GF12)
• eats toast (GF18)
• swims with students after exams (OP38)

Giant African snail that changes colour every hour, and deposits a trail of venom as it moves that kills and shrivels all vegetation over which it passes, and which can kill horklumps. It is often kept as a pet (FB).

See Dragons - Swedish Short-Snout.