In medieval literature, the ichneumon or echinemon was the enemy of the dragon. When it sees a dragon, the ichneumon covers itself with mud, and closing its nostrils with its tail, attacks and kills the dragon. The ichneumon was also considered by some to be the enemy of the crocodile and the asp, and attack them in the same way. The name was used for the "pharaoh's rat", mongoose, or Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), which attacks snakes; it can also mean "otter".
Kamaitachi (鎌鼬) is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes.
They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sickles. One would receive a sharp, painless wound.
