Reptiles · Squamata · Varanidae

Perentie

Varanus giganteus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The perentie is the largest lizard in Australia and the fourth largest in the world, with individuals over two metres long. It lives in the rocky desert of the interior, where it hunts mammals, birds and other reptiles, and shelters in deep crevices. Like all monitors, it runs upright on its legs and can rear up on its hind legs to survey the ground.

Weight

8 kg – 20 kg

Size

1.5 m – 2.5 m

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

DesertMountainCarnivore Diurnal Solitary Reptile Desert Mountain

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Fun facts

GeneralThe largest lizard in Australia, at 2.5 m; it runs upright on its hind legs.
It is the largest lizard in Australia and the fourth largest in the world, behind only the Komodo dragon and two Asian monitors.
It has a prominent place in the culture of several Aboriginal peoples of the Australian desert, where it has been an important food source for millennia and appears in Dreaming stories.
It props itself up on its hind legs and tail to look out over the scrub, a tripod posture shared by several monitors that lets it spot prey and danger at a distance.