A wattled amphiptere, which appeared in Edward Topsell's bestiary, The Historie of Serpents, 1608. Wattled is a term used in describing the gills of a cock. An amphiptere is a winged serpent. The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind.