Sources : Selfyr
Albertus Magnus [ca. 1200-1280 CE] (De animalibus, Book 25, 57): Selfyr, as Avicenna points out, is the name of a certain Egyptian snake with a broad head, small neck, short tail and rounded belly. There are no markings or scales on its head, but on its body are lines of varying color. When snakes of this species crawl along the ground, they do not travel in a straight line but, rather, are drawn together in tight loops. Their bite gives rise to a painful abscess, followed at first by spontaneous bruising of the whole body, then necrosis of all the bruised areas and loss of hair. This snake is reckoned in the class of vipers and the second category of serpents. - [Scanlan]