Perentie

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Perentie

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Varanus
Species:
V. giganteus
Binomial name
Varanus giganteus
(Gray, 1845)
Distribution of the perentie
Synonyms[2]

Hydrosaurus giganteus, Gray

The perentie (Varanus giganteus) is a species of

Crocodile monitor.[3][4] Found west of the Great Dividing Range in the arid areas of Australia, it is rarely seen, because of its shyness and the remoteness of much of its range from human habitation. The species is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature
.

Its status in many

dreaming, as well as bush tucker
. It was a favoured food item among desert Aboriginal tribes, and the fat was used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes.

Taxonomy

British zoologist John Edward Gray described the perentie in 1845 as Hydrosaurus giganteus, calling it the "gigantic water lizard".[5] George Albert Boulenger moved it to the genus Varanus.[6]

Within the monitor genus

Argus monitor
.

Description

Perenties are the largest living species of lizard in

Crocodile monitor).[7][8][9] However, perenties are very lean among large monitors, making it significantly less bulky than the Rock monitor
at a similar size.

Venom

In late 2005,

spotted tree monitors (V. scalaris) have been observed to cause swelling within minutes, localised disruption of blood clotting, and shooting pain up to the elbow, which can often last for several hours.[10]

squamate biochemical systems".[11]

Distribution and habitat

Perenties are found in the arid desert areas of Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. Their habitats consist of rocky outcroppings and gorges, with hard-packed soil and loose stones.

Behaviour and ecology

Perenties generally avoid human contact and often retreat before they are seen. Being able diggers, they can excavate a burrow for shelter in only minutes. Their long claws enable them to easily climb trees. They often stand on their back legs and tails to gain a better view of the surrounding terrain. This behaviour, known as "

tripoding
", is quite common in monitor species. Perenties are fast sprinters, and can run using either all four legs or just their hind legs.

Typical of most goannas, the perentie either freezes (lying flat on the ground, and remaining very still until the danger has passed) or runs if detected. If cornered, this powerful carnivore stands its ground and uses its arsenal of claws, teeth, and whip-like tail to defend itself. It can inflate its throat and hiss as a defensive or aggressive display, and can strike at opponents with its muscular tail. It may also lunge forward with an open mouth, either as a bluff or as an attack. The bite of a perentie can do much damage, not only from the teeth, but also because of the oral secretions.

Feeding

Mummified perentie that died trying to eat an echidna

The perenties are

apex predators that do not have natural predators in their range.[12]
They are highly active carnivores that feed on mostly reptiles, small mammals, and less commonly birds such as
Argus monitors.[14][15][16] Perenties also eat smaller members of their own species; such is the case of a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) perentie killing and eating a 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) perentie.[17] Other lizard prey include central bearded dragons and long-nosed water dragons. Coastal and island individuals often eat a large number of sea turtle eggs and hatchlings, and hide under vehicles to ambush scavenging gulls. Mammalian prey includes bats, young kangaroos & other small marsupials, and rodents. They have also been occasionally seen foraging for food in shallow water. They are able to kill kangaroos and dismember those too large to be swallowed whole using their powerful forelimbs and claws.[18] Although adults feed predominantly on vertebrate prey, young perenties eat mostly arthropods, especially grasshoppers and centipedes.[19][17][20]

Prey is typically swallowed whole, but if the food item is too large, chunks are ripped off for ease of consumption.[21]

Breeding

The perentie can lay its eggs in termite mounds or in the soil.[22]

Gallery

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T83777786A101752310.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Australian Biological Resources Study (16 August 2012). "Species Varanus giganteus (Gray, 1845)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  3. ISBN 978-1-86254-831-2
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-925441-17-8
    .
  5. ^ Gray, John Edward (1845). Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 13.
  6. ISBN 978-0-253-34366-6
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-89158-464-3
    .
  8. ISBN 978-1-57607-764-1
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-925441-17-8
    .
  10. S2CID 4386245
    .
  11. ISBN 978-1-4200-0866-1
    . Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  12. ^ [1]. Edited by Kari F. Soennichsen, Brett Bartek, Cody Davis Godwin, Simon Clulow, David Rhind, Christopher J L Murray and Jean Sean Doody
  13. ^ Fisher, Scott (22 April 2018). "Perentie and a diamond dove". Flickr.
  14. ^ Macdonald, Stewart (August 2007). "Observations on the Stomach Contents of a Road-killed Perentie, Varanus giganteus in Western Queensland". Biawak. 1.
  15. ^ Naish, Darren (18 May 2012). "Goanna-eating goannas: an evolutionary story of intraguild predation, dwarfism, gigantism, copious walking and reckless thermoregulation". Scientific American.
  16. ^ "Varanus Giganteus".
  17. ^
    ISSN 0024-4066
    .
  18. ^ "Varanus Giganteus". Biocyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  19. doi:10.1071/wr9890041
    – via www.publish.csiro.au.
  20. ^ "Varanus Giganteus".
  21. ^ King & Green 1999, p. 18.
  22. ^ King & Green 1999, p. 33.
  • King, Dennis; Green, Brian (1999). Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. University of New South Wales Press.
    ISBN 978-0-86840-456-1
    .

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Varanus giganteus.
Wikispecies has information related to Varanus giganteus.
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