Sand Goanna
S12 Female, Sunning cold am
Ellura
Sand Goanna
S12 Female, Sunning cold am
 
                      
Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Chordates (Chordata) - Reptiles (Reptilia)
Order: Scaled Reptiles (Squamata)
Family: Goanna (Varanidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii)
This Photo:     🔍S12 Female, Sunning cold am🔎

Thank you Ralph Foster, Max Tibby, Ernst Weiher & Richard D Reams for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
More colourful when younger, turning more grey as they age.
Sometimes when walking around Ellura we'll hear a thumping near by, to turn and see the back of one lifting dust as it disappears - no chance of a photograph

Recently (Summer 2020/21) we have had a "resident" around the campsite. It's young, ~400mm long (SVL-not including the tail), and seems quite placid. Happy to sit there (but forever watching) as we moved about; got some close up shots. She's labelled S7. We saw a pair mating, 9th Nov 2021, and we think she is also S7 (mating with S8). S8 had the tip of his tail missing and an injured eye.

Copyright © 2022-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 07-Nov-2022
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)