goanna

[prettygoodword]

goanna (goh-AN-uh) - n., any of several large Australian monitor lizards (genus Varanus).


About 25 species of Varanus are native to Australia, all of which are interchangeably known as goannas and monitors, while the other 45 species in Africa and tropical Asia are generally just monitors (though some, like the Komodo dragon, have specific names). The Australia-specific name is, it turns out, an alteration of iguana, with which they were initially confused. This one is a lace goanna (V. varius) who's on the small side -- they grow up to 2m long:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.

Comments

[full_metal_ox]

You probably recall the time a two-meter-long goanna was forcefully ejected from a fancy New South Wales bar by an expat French waitress:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-21/french-goanna-girl-scared-of-spiders-evicts-huge-reptile/8287604

[prettygoodword]

Nope -- I missed hearing about this one.