The perentie is the largest Australian monitor lizard, growing to 2.5 metres in length.

Meaning of scientific name
Varanus giganteus = giant monitor

Statistics
Body length: up to 2.5m; Weight: up to 15kg.

Physical Description
The perentie is the largest Australian monitor lizard. It is a slender monitor lizard with a large head. The upper surfaces are brown or black with rows of large light-coloured spots on the back and tail. Young ones are more brightly coloured than adults.

Distribution
Arid regions of Australia. Perenties are found from the coast of Western Australia, in the south of the Northern Territory, the north of South Australia and the very west of Queensland.

Habitat
Semi-arid and arid areas, particularly in rocky terrain.

Diet
They catch snakes, lizards, birds and small mammals. They have even been known to catch small kangaroos. Those on Barrow Island eat baby turtles as they hatch out and crawl to the sea. Perenties also eat carrion and the eggs of reptiles and birds. Juvenile perenties may fall victim to larger adults.

Behaviour
To escape the desert heat, perenties dig burrows or hide in deep rock crevices. They emerge from these to hunt, often travelling considerable distances along dry creek beds or neighbouring plains. They hibernate from May to August. Perenties are fast runners, sprinting either on all fours or on their hind legs. They inflate the throat and hiss as a defensive or aggressive display, and strike at opponents with their muscular tail. Perenties will also lunge forward with an open mouth, either as bluff or as an attack.

Reproduction
Some 6 to 11 eggs are laid in a burrow dug underneath a rock in January. Approximately 230 days later the hatchlings emerge.

Conservation status
Perenties are not listed by the IUCN.