Perentie

About

The perentie is Australia's largest lizard and the world's fourth-largest living lizard species, reaching up to 2.5 metres in length. It's a shy, wide-ranging predator of the remote rocky arid interior, rarely encountered simply because of how sparsely populated its desert habitat is.

How to spot it

Huge for a lizard — up to 2.5m nose to tail — with a cream-and-black reticulated head and neck, a yellowish body patterned with brown rosettes, and dark, white-spotted limbs. Look for it basking near rocky outcrops and gorges in the arid interior; if disturbed it will bolt for the nearest crevice or tree, or rear up on its hind legs to look around.

Found in

• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
• Watarrka National Park
• Finke Gorge National Park
• Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park
• N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park
• Karijini National Park