Talk:Goanna

unsigned question
What is a baby goanna called? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 20.139.225.21 (talk) 23:10, 8 November 2004 (UTC)


 * Err... a "young goanna" or if really young a "hatchling". I don't think any lizard (reptile?) has a young-specific name.--ZayZayEM 05:25, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Australia, except for Tasmania?
The article says goanas are common to "australia, except for tasmania".

But this makes no sense, since tasmania is not part of australia.

Someone needs to fix this to be accurate...I don't know if it was intended to say "and nearby islands, except tasmania", or what. --Kaz 21:57, 21 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Tasmania is part of Australia. (Discussing this at Kaz' talk page.) --Calair 12:21, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Lokicarbis - I don't have an exhaustive listing, but goannas are found on several major Australian islands (Kangaroo, Fraser, and Reevesby for starters). Since they're reasonable swimmers, they're presumably found on plenty of the smaller ones too. So I don't think 'found throughout the mainland of Australia' is the solution here; we ought to acknowledge that their distribution is wider than that, but that it doesn't include Tasmania is also noteworthy. I'm all in favour of language that compromises between conflicting opinions, but Tasmania's membership of Australia is not a matter of opinion :-/ --Calair 22:31, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Tasmania separated from the Australian mainland relatively recently in geological time and one would normally have expected to find mainland biota there. The southern distribution of monitors is limited by temperature available for hatching offspring of both sexes. The small Rosenberg's Monitor of Kangaroo Island in South Australia overcomes this by brooding its eggs inside termite mounds. 210.50.176.96 01:16, 3 July 2007 (UTC) Ian Ison

image id
I photographed this guy in the Striling Range WA, does anyone have any idea what species it is. I've always known them as Bungarras or Racehorse goannas. Any anwers contact me. thanks! Gnangarra 08:06, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Heath Monitor
Dear Gnangarra:

I am certain that your photo must be of the "Heath Monitor" or "Rosenberg's Goanna" (Varanus rosenbergi) which lives mainly in the south and southwest of West Australia with smaller ranges in South Australia and Victoria. It is the most southern species of monitor. Head and body length to 70 cm, total length to 160 cm. I hope that is of some help. It would be wonderful if you would start an article on the monitor and add your photo. I would be happy to help, if you wish. Cheers John Hill 09:32, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Leguaan
There is a possible alternative origin in the South African term for a monitor lizard - Leguaan. It should be remembered that the Cape of Good Hope was a popular refresher stop for immigrant ships to Australia from Britain. I have suspicions that the name Boomerang may also be Afrikaans in origin - meaning 'tree range-finder'. 210.50.176.96 01:08, 3 July 2007 (UTC) Ian Ison


 * I have now added a slightly modified version of the above comment to the article page (under the heading 'Possible origins for the name'). Figaro 07:43, 3 July 2007 (UTC)


 * It would be nice to have a cite for the South African etymology - the 'iguana' one can be found in various dictionaries, e.g., but I haven't encountered the SA one before. --Calair 08:36, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Also: http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50099780, http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50131583? 198.54.202.242 (talk) 19:12, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

What are these lizards called



Taken around the shores of Sydney Harbour, what kind of lizards could this be. Cheers_Ad@m.J.W.C. (talk) 13:13, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

They are not goannas. XD --ZayZayEM (talk) 00:59, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks, that was very helpfull, I know they are not goannas. I am just asking because someone who edits this kind of article might know 01:10, 25 January 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Adam.J.W.C. (talk • contribs)


 * Number 2 looks like a Skink, Number 1 I think is related to the Blue-tongued skink, Number 3 is a Bearded Dragon Gnangarra 01:25, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that you have been very helpfull. Cheers_Ad@m.J.W.C. (talk) 01:42, 25 January 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure of #1, how large was it?. #2 is an Eastern Water Skink (Eulamprus quoyii), and #3 is an Eastern Water Dragon (Physignathus lesueurii). --liquidGhoul (talk) 12:47, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

The 2008 Australian Zoo Incident
What one person did once to one lizard--as inflammatory as it may be--hardly seems relevant to this article, as it offers no insight into any aspect of this group of species. I'm deleting it. Steamroller Assault (talk) 23:13, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I didn't partcularly agree with its inclusion, I just felt that it was best to clean it up in the short-term. Yohan euan o4 (talk) 23:30, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Difference between Goannas and Monitor Lizards?
They have separate wiki entries, but I cannot find a proper definition to distinguish the groups. The list of species on this page even refers to Monitor Lizard for a full list of species. Shoud these entries be merged, or is there a valid reason to keep the terms separate? 87.209.51.59 (talk) 14:51, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Number of species
The second paragraph states, "Around 30 species of goanna are known, 25 of which are found in Australia." Yet the "complete" list of species of Varanus in Section 5 of the article numbers only 12. Further clouding the issue, a link titled "Complete list of genus Varanus" and directing to the article "Monitor lizard" is inserted at the beginning of the section. That article lists 87 species of Varanus.

A knowledgeable person is needed to resolve these discrepancies.--71.214.81.136 (talk) 23:15, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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