Its tail was laden with poisoned spines that could be shot like arrows and, like the Sphinx, it often asked riddles of its victims before devouring them.  
This creature served as the emblem of the prophet Jeremiah, and its name comes from Old Persian meaning "man-eater."  Possessing a flute and trumpet like voice, Pliny the Elder described it as being half-human half-animal, and having three rows of teeth, blue eyes, and a purplish body.  Its tail was laden with poisoned spines that could be shot like arrows and, like the Sphinx, it often asked riddles of its victims before devouring them.  FTP, identify this creature thought to roam the jungles of India with the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the head of a man.
This creature served as the emblem of the prophet Jeremiah, and its name comes from Old Persian meaning "man-eater."  
manticore or manticora