1.
High Desert (Oregon)
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The Oregon high desert is a region of the U. S. state of Oregon, located east of the Cascade Range and south of the Blue Mountains, in the central and eastern parts of the state. Divided into a region and a northern region, the desert covers most of five Oregon counties and averages 4,000 feet above sea level. The southwest region is part of the Great Basin and the southeast is the lower Owyhee River watershed, the northern region is part of the Columbia Plateau, where somewhat more rainfall allows the largest industry on private land to be the cultivation of alfalfa and hay. Public land within the region is owned primarily by the Bureau of Land Management, while the high desert is somewhat dry, it is only arid relative to Western Oregon. The region averages 15 inches of rainfall, the Alvord Desert, however. Contrary to its name, most of the desert is not dry enough to truly qualify as desert. At 9,733 feet above sea level, the summit of Steens Mountain is the highest point in the high desert, the broad fault-block mountain is characteristic of the basin and range plate tectonics of the high desert. About 16 million years ago, during the early Miocene epoch, the Earths crust then began stretching, giving way to further volcanic activity from 15 million to 2 million years ago. Several ice ages over this time formed the large lakes in the high desert, the climate of the high desert provides habitat for mammals such as pronghorn, coyote, mule deer, black-tailed jackrabbit, and cougar. Birds common in the region include sage grouse, California quail, the western juniper is the most common tree in the region, and big sagebrush and common woolly sunflower are the regions most widespread plants. The high desert of Oregon is located in the central and southeastern part of the state and it covers approximately 24,000 square miles, extending approximately 200 miles from central Oregon east to the Idaho border and 130 miles from central Oregon to the Nevada border to the south. Most of the region is located in Crook, Deschutes, Harney, Lake, the high desert gets its name from its generally high elevation, averaging about 4,000 feet across the region. It is bordered by the foothills of the Cascade Range to the west. The Blue Mountains are the boundary to the north, marking the northern end of the high deserts semi-arid plateau. The southern high desert is part of North Americas Basin and Range Province and it contains large alkali lakes and tall cliffs, some with a prominence of more than 2,000 feet. Steens Mountain, in Harney County, is the highest point within the region, to the east, the high desert country of the Columbia Plateau extends across the Snake River and into Idaho. A number of flow through the high desert region. These include the Deschutes River and its tributary the Crooked River, as well as the Malheur, Owyhee, and John Day rivers, since the high desert encompasses the portion of the hydrographic Great Basin located in Oregon, smaller rivers in the high desert flow into closed basins
2.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
3.
Western Australia
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Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Southern Ocean to the south, the state has about 2.6 million inhabitants, around 11% of the national total. 92% of the lives in the south-west corner of the state. The first European visitor to Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, the first European settlement of Western Australia occurred following the landing by Major Edmund Lockyer on 26 December 1826 of an expedition on behalf of the New South Wales colonial government. This was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, including the site of the present-day capital, york was the first inland settlement in Western Australia. Situated 97 kilometres east of Perth, it was settled on 16 September 1831, Western Australia achieved responsible government in 1890, and federated with the other British colonies in Australia in 1901. Today its economy relies on mining, agriculture and tourism. The state produces 46% of Australias exports, Western Australia is the second-largest iron ore producer in the world. The International Hydrographic Organization designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean, the total length of the states eastern border is 1,862 km. There are 20,781 km of coastline, including 7,892 km of island coastline, the total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km2. Most of the state is a low plateau with an elevation of about 400 metres, very low relief. This descends relatively sharply to the plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment. The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile, even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and also deficient in zinc, copper, molybdenum, the infertility of most of the soils has required heavy application by farmers of chemical fertilisers, particularly superphosphate, insecticides and herbicides. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations, the grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils. Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora, large areas of the states wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate and it was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri, one of the tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current, the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs in the world
4.
Northern Territory
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The Northern Territory is a federal Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, to the north, the territory is bordered by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Despite its large area—over 1,349,129 square kilometres, the Northern Territorys population of 244,000 makes it the least populous of Australias eight major states and territories, having fewer than half as many people as Tasmania. The archaeological history of the Northern Territory begins over 40,000 years ago when Indigenous Australians settled the region, makassan traders began trading with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory for trepang from at least the 18th century onwards. The coast of the territory was first seen by Europeans in the 17th century, the British were the first Europeans to attempt to settle the coastal regions. After three failed attempts to establish a settlement, success was achieved in 1869 with the establishment of a settlement at Port Darwin. Today the economy is based on tourism, especially Kakadu National Park in the Top End and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia, the capital and largest city is Darwin. The population is not concentrated in regions but rather along the Stuart Highway. The other major settlements are Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, residents of the Northern Territory are often known simply as Territorians and fully as Northern Territorians, or more informally as Top Enders and Centralians. With the coming of the British, there were four attempts to settle the harsh environment of the northern coast. The Northern Territory was part of colonial New South Wales from 1825 to 1863, except for a time from February to December 1846. It was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911, under the administration of colonial South Australia, the overland telegraph was constructed between 1870 and 1872. A railway was built between Palmerston and Pine Creek between 1883 and 1889. The economic pattern of raising and mining was established so that by 1911 there were 513,000 cattle. Victoria River Downs was at one time the largest cattle station in the world, gold was found at Grove Hill in 1872 and at Pine Creek, Brocks Creek, Burrundi, and copper was found at Daly River. On 1 January 1911, a decade after federation, the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia, alfred Deakin opined at this time To me the question has been not so much commercial as national, first, second, third and last. Either we must accomplish the peopling of the territory or submit to its transfer to some other nation. In late 1912 there was growing sentiment that the name Northern Territory was unsatisfactory, the names Kingsland, Centralia and Territoria were proposed with Kingsland becoming the preferred choice in 1913
5.
Desert
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A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation, about one third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the regions where little precipitation occurs. Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation falls, by the temperature that prevails. Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night put strains on the rocks which consequently break in pieces, although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter and the resulting fragments and this picks up particles of sand and dust and wafts them aloft in sand or dust storms. Wind-blown sand grains striking any solid object in their path can abrade the surface, rocks are smoothed down, and the wind sorts sand into uniform deposits. The grains end up as level sheets of sand or are piled high in billowing sand dunes, other deserts are flat, stony plains where all the fine material has been blown away and the surface consists of a mosaic of smooth stones. These areas are known as desert pavements and little further erosion takes place, other desert features include rock outcrops, exposed bedrock and clays once deposited by flowing water. Temporary lakes may form and salt pans may be left when waters evaporate, there may be underground sources of water in the form of springs and seepages from aquifers. Where these are found, oases can occur, plants and animals living in the desert need special adaptations to survive in the harsh environment. Plants tend to be tough and wiry with small or no leaves, water-resistant cuticles, some annual plants germinate, bloom and die in the course of a few weeks after rainfall while other long-lived plants survive for years and have deep root systems able to tap underground moisture. Animals need to cool and find enough food and water to survive. Many are nocturnal and stay in the shade or underground during the heat of the day and they tend to be efficient at conserving water, extracting most of their needs from their food and concentrating their urine. Some animals remain in a state of dormancy for long periods and they then reproduce rapidly while conditions are favorable before returning to dormancy. People have struggled to live in deserts and the surrounding lands for millennia. Nomads have moved their flocks and herds to wherever grazing is available, the cultivation of semi-arid regions encourages erosion of soil and is one of the causes of increased desertification. Many trade routes have been forged across deserts, especially across the Sahara Desert, large numbers of slaves were also taken northwards across the Sahara
6.
Pilbara
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The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples, its ancient landscapes and it is one of nine regions of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, and is also a bioregion under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia. The region has an population of 48,610 as of June 2010. The Pilbara covers an area of 502,000 km2, which some of Earths oldest rock formations. It includes landscapes of coastal plains and mountain ranges with cliffs, the major settlements of the region are Port Hedland, Karratha and Newman. The area is known for its petroleum, natural gas and iron ore deposits, other than mining, pastoral activities as well as fishing and tourism are the main industries. The Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre Wangka Maya says that the name for the Pilbara region derives from the Aboriginal word bilybara, meaning dry in the Nyamal, alternatively, The Western Australia Gas Industry claims that the region takes its name from pilbarra, an Aboriginal word for the mullet. The Pilbara Creek is a tributary of the Yule River, a significant river in the region, pilbarra and barramundi can still be caught in the Yule River today. This Pilbara Creek lent its name to the Pilbara Goldfield, discovered in 1885, the first European to explore the area was Francis Thomas Gregory in 1861. Settlements along the coast at Cossack, Roebourne and Shellborough were established over ensuing decades as agricultural and pastoral centres,1900, these largely went into decline with the growth of other, more productive agricultural areas of the state. On 3 October 1952, the British conducted their first atomic bomb tests on the Montebello Islands as part of Operation Hurricane, the Aboriginal population of the Pilbara considerably predates, by 30-40,000 years, the European colonisation of the region. Archaeological evidence indicates people were living in the Pilbara even during the harsh climatic conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum. The early history of the first peoples is held within a tradition, archeological evidence. Near the town of Dampier is a known as Murujuga. Rock art in the Pilbara appears to have been etched into the hard rock surfaces. This does not preclude that painting was and is not performed in the Pilbara, in 2006, it was estimated that 15% of the population of the Pilbara was of Indigenous background, approximately 6,000 people. Family clans in the Pilbara who were supported by mining prospector, Don McLeod, developed skills for mining, for a short period money accumulated, which according to Aboriginal law was to be used for traditional ways. Eventually the funds were used to establish an independent Aboriginal-controlled school, the concept has expanded into a movement with around 20 similar schools established in northern Western Australia by the mid 1990s
7.
Erg (landform)
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An erg is a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover. The term takes its name from the Arabic word ʿarq, meaning dune field, strictly speaking, an erg is defined as a desert area that contains more than 125 km2 of aeolian or wind-blown sand and where sand covers more than 20% of the surface. Smaller areas are known as dune fields, the largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara, covers 9 million square kilometres and contains several ergs, such as the Chech Erg and the Issaouane Erg in Algeria. Approximately 85% of all the Earths mobile sand is found in ergs that are greater than 32,000 km2, ergs are also found on other celestial bodies, such as Venus, Mars, and Saturns moon Titan. Ergs are concentrated in two belts between 20° to 40°N and 20° to 40°S latitudes, which include regions crossed by the dry. Active ergs are limited to regions that receive, on average, the largest are in northern and southern Africa, central and western Asia, and Central Australia. In South America, ergs are limited by the Andes Mountains and they are also found in several parts of the northeast coast of Brazil. An erg that has been fixed by vegetation forms the Nebraska Sandhills, sand seas and dune fields generally occur in regions downwind of copious sources of dry, loose sand, such as dry riverbeds and deltas, floodplains, glacial outwash plains, dry lakes, and beaches. Almost all major ergs are located downwind from river beds in areas that are too dry to support extensive vegetative cover and are subject to long-continued wind erosion. Sand from these abundant sources migrates downwind and builds up into very large dunes where its movement is halted or slowed by topographic barriers to windflow or by convergence of windflow. Entire ergs and dune fields tend to migrate downwind as far as hundreds of kilometers from their sources of sand, such accumulation requires long periods of time. At least one million years are required to build ergs with very large dunes, such as those on the Arabian Peninsula, in North Africa, within sand seas in a given area, the dunes tend to be of a single type. For example, there are ergs or fields of linear dunes, of crescentic dunes, of star dunes, and of parabolic dunes, by nature, ergs are very active. Smaller dunes form and migrate along the flanks of the larger dunes, occasional precipitation fills basins formed by the dunes, as the water evaporates, salt deposits are left behind. Individual dunes in ergs typically have widths, lengths, or both dimensions greater than 500 m, both the regional extent of their sand cover and the complexity and great size of their dunes distinguish ergs from dune fields. This is far shallower than ergs in prehistoric times were, evidence in the geological record indicates that some Mesozoic and Paleozoic ergs reached a mean depth of several hundred meters. Today at least three bodies, apart from Earth, are known in the system to feature ergs on their surface, Venus, Mars. At least two ergs have been recognized by the Magellan probe on Venus, the Aglaonice dune field, which covers approximately 1,290 km2, and these seem to be mostly transverse dune fields
8.
Indigenous Australians
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Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands prior to European colonisation. In present-day Australia these groups are divided into local communities. At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken, it is estimated that 120 to 145 of these remain in use. Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English, a population collapse following European settlement, and a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans may have caused a massive and early depopulation. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag have been among the flags of Australia. The word aboriginal has been in the English language since at least the 16th century, to mean, first or earliest known and it comes from the Latin word aborigines, derived from ab and origo. The word was used in Australia to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789 and it soon became capitalised and employed as the common name to refer to all Indigenous Australians. Strictly speaking, Aborigine is the noun and Aboriginal the adjectival form, however, use of either Aborigine or Aboriginal to refer to individuals has acquired negative connotations in some sectors of the community, and it is generally regarded as insensitive and even offensive. The more acceptable and correct expression is Aboriginal Australians or Aboriginal people, the term Indigenous Australians, which also includes Torres Strait Islander peoples, has found increasing acceptance, particularly since the 1980s. The broad term Aboriginal Australians includes many groups that often identify under names from local Indigenous languages. Anindilyakwa on Groote Eylandt off Arnhem Land, Palawah in Tasmania and these larger groups may be further subdivided, for example, Anangu recognises localised subdivisions such as Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Luritja and Antikirinya. It is estimated that prior to the arrival of British settlers, the Torres Strait Islanders possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea, accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation Aboriginal Australians. This has been another factor in the promotion of the inclusive term Indigenous Australians. Six percent of Indigenous Australians identify themselves fully as Torres Strait Islanders, a further 4% of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as having both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage. The Torres Strait Islands comprise over 100 islands which were annexed by Queensland in 1879, eddie Mabo was from Mer or Murray Island in the Torres Strait, which the famous Mabo decision of 1992 involved. The term blacks has been used to refer to Indigenous Australians since European settlement, while originally related to skin colour, the term is used today to indicate Aboriginal heritage or culture in general and refers to people of any skin pigmentation. In the 1970s, many Aboriginal activists, such as Gary Foley, proudly embraced the term black, the book included interviews with several members of the Aboriginal community including Robert Jabanungga reflecting on contemporary Aboriginal culture
9.
Tropical cyclone
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Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon /taɪˈfuːn/, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface and this energy source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms, such as noreasters and European windstorms, which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts. The strong rotating winds of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of momentum imparted by the Earths rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation. As a result, they form within 5° of the equator. Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and 2,000 km in diameter, Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. Cyclone refers to their nature, with wind blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis effect, in addition to strong winds and rain, tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves, damaging storm surge, and tornadoes. They typically weaken rapidly over land where they are cut off from their energy source. For this reason, coastal regions are vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions. Heavy rains, however, can cause significant flooding inland, though their effects on human populations are often devastating, tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes. Tropical cyclones are areas of low pressure in the troposphere. On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level, the environment near the center of tropical cyclones is warmer than the surroundings at all altitudes, thus they are characterized as warm core systems. The near-surface wind field of a cyclone is characterized by air rotating rapidly around a center of circulation while also flowing radially inwards. At the outer edge of the storm, air may be nearly calm, however, due to the Earths rotation, as air flows radially inward, it begins to rotate cyclonically in order to conserve angular momentum. At an inner radius, air begins to ascend to the top of the troposphere and this radius is typically coincident with the inner radius of the eyewall, and has the strongest near-surface winds of the storm, consequently, it is known as the radius of maximum winds. Once aloft, air flows away from the center, producing a shield of cirrus clouds
10.
Dingo
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The dingo is a wild canine found in Australia. Its taxonomic status as a species remains debated. The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia, and plays an important role as an apex predator, however, the dingo is seen as a pest by livestock farmers due to attacks on animals. Conversely, their predation on rabbits, kangaroos and rats may be of benefit to graziers, for some Australians, the dingo is a cultural icon. The introduction of the dingo is seen by many as being responsible for thylacine extinction on the Australian mainland about two years ago, although a recent study challenges this view. Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, the dingos habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes will normally make their dens in deserted rabbit holes and hollow logs close to a supply of water. Despite being an efficient hunter, it is listed as vulnerable to extinction, the name dingo comes from the Dharug language used by the Indigenous Australians of the Sydney area. It was used to describe their camp dogs during the first contact with Europeans, the variants include tin-go for a bitch, din-go for a dog, and wo-ri-gal for a big dog. The people of the Yarralin, Northern Territory region call those dingoes that live with them walaku, the taxonomic classification of the dingo remains both confused and debated. Nomenclature provides the name that is to be used for a taxon, in 1768, James Cook took command of a scientific voyage of discovery from Britain to New Holland, which was the name for Australia at that time. In 1770, his ship HMS Endeavour arrived in Botany Bay, the mission collected specimens and made notes for taking back to Britain. On return to Britain, Joseph Banks commissioned George Stubbs to produce paintings based on his observations, johann Friedrich Blumenbach gathered together a collection from the Cook voyage and was the first to classify the New Holland dog as Canis familiaris dingo. In 1793, the Dog of New South Wales was classified by Friedrich Meyer as Canis dingo, in 1947, a proposal was made to change this classification after it was discovered that the New Holland dog Canis antarticus had been specified a year earlier in a little-known work. Both Kerr and Meyer had based their classifications on the illustration of the Dog of New South Wales, the ICZN ruled that Canis antarticus be suppressed and that Canis dingo was the name to be used for the dingo in its Opinion 451. This name was entered on the ICZNs Official Lists and Indexes of Names in Zoology. A name entered onto the Official List of the ICZN is the available name and this is the scientific name for the dingo that appears on the Official Lists and Indexes of Names in Zoology of the ICZN. This ruling did not deter some zoologists from continuing to use the name Canis antarticus in later publications, however this name has now fallen out of use
11.
Goanna
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A goanna is any of several Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as certain species from Southeast Asia. Around 30 species of goanna are known,25 of which are found in Australia and this varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges greatly in size and fills several ecological niches. The goanna features prominently in Aboriginal mythology and Australian folklore, being predatory lizards, goannas are often quite large, or at least bulky, with sharp teeth and claws. The largest is the perentie, which can grow over 2.5 m in length, pygmy goannas may be smaller than a mans arm. The smallest of these, the short-tailed monitor reaches only 20 cm in length and they survive on smaller prey, such as insects and mice. Goannas combine predatory and scavenging behaviours, a goanna will prey on any animal it can catch and is small enough to eat whole. Goannas have been blamed for the death of sheep by farmers, though most likely erroneously, most goannas are dark-coloured, with greys, browns, blacks and greens featuring prominently, however, white is also common. Many desert-dwelling species also feature yellow-red tones, camouflage ranges from bands and stripes to splotches, speckles, and circles, and can change as the creature matures, with juveniles sometimes being brighter than adults. Like most lizards, goannas lay eggs, most lay eggs in a nest or burrow, but some species lay their eggs inside termite mounds. This offers protection and incubation, additionally, the termites may provide a meal for the young as they hatch, unlike some other species of lizards, goannas do not have the ability to regrow limbs or tails. The name goanna might have derived from iguana, as early European settlers likened goannas to the South American lizards, over time, the initial vowel sound was dropped. A similar explanation is used to link possum to the American opossum, complete list of genus Varanus For the most part, in common names, goanna and monitor are interchangeable. Most species are known to climb trees or outcrops, several primarily arboreal species are known, the lace monitor is probably the best-known among these, but is not the most common. The lace monitor is the second-largest of all goannas, reaching lengths of up to 2 m, other more common tree goannas, such as the Timor tree monitor and mournful tree monitor do not grow to quite such lengths, averaging a maximum of 61 cm, nose-to-tail. Other goannas are adapted to coastal environments, such as the mangrove goanna. Further still, the Mertens water monitor, found in lagoons, most other goannas are good swimmers, but tend not to voluntarily venture into the water. The diets of goannas vary greatly depending on the species and the habitat, prey can include all manner of small animals, insects, smaller lizards, snakes, mammals, birds, and eggs. Meals are often eaten whole, thus the size of their meals may depend on the size of the animals, many of the small species feed mostly on insects, with some being small lizard experts
12.
Perentie
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The perentie is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia, and the fourth-largest living lizard on earth, after the Komodo dragon, Asian water monitor, and the crocodile monitor. Found west of the Great Dividing Range in the areas of Australia, they are not a common sight because of their shyness. Their status in many Aboriginal cultures is evident in the totemic relationships and they were a favoured food item among desert Aboriginal tribes, and the fat was used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. The lizard can grow up to 2.5 m long, although the length is around 1.75 to 2 m. Their rival for the title of the third-largest lizard is the crocodile monitor, however, perenties are relatively lean lizards and are less bulky than either the Komodo dragon or the Asian water monitor. In late 2005, University of Melbourne researchers discovered that perenties, other monitors, other scientists have stated that the suggestion of venom glands. Perenties are found in the desert areas of Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory. Their habitats consist of rocky outcroppings and gorges, with hard-packed soil, perenties are not a common sight in Australia. They generally avoid contact and will retreat before they are seen. Being able diggers, they can excavate a burrow for shelter in only minutes and their long claws enable them to easily climb trees. They often stand on their legs and tail to gain a better view of the surrounding terrain. This behaviour, known as tripoding, is 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 will either freeze or run if detected. If cornered, this powerful carnivore will stand its ground and use its arsenal of claws, teeth and they inflate their throats and hiss as a defensive or aggressive display, and strike at opponents with their muscular tails. Perenties will also lunge forward with open mouths, 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 from their mouths. As a carnivore, the perentie feeds on a variety of prey. Though normally active hunters, they hide and ambush prey when the need arises, depending on their size, they hunt insects, lizards, fish, birds, and small animals such as rats and rabbits. Larger individuals will also hunt large animals, such as kangaroos, wombats
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