Perentie
The Perentie is the largest goanna that lives in the Australian desert where there are rocky out crops, hard stony soil, and sand ridges. It’s a fierce, aggressive type of animal that eats anything it can overpower (like birds and other reptiles).  Its scientific name is Varanus giganteus.
 
The Perentie's structural features include thin, sharp, backward curving teeth, a long tail and claws. It uses its teeth to kill the animal and the thin, sharp, backward curving teeth to hold the prey still in case it’s still alive. They use their long tail to whip their predators when feeling threatened. They also have sharp claws to scratch when threatened and to kill their prey.

This amazing creature has a few behavioural adaptations such as a whipping tail , scratching and biting, and digging holes. They whip with their tail when predators are attacking and they are defending themselves. They bite and scratch because they're defending, but they also use it for killing other animals. In addition, Perenties dig holes when they're looking for food. They use this technique when finding other small animals.

The Perentie is threatened by habitat destruction and being hunted by dingoes. If their habitat is destroyed they’ll have less places to live and they’ll be in the open to be hunted and will die off. When their numbers decline, they will be outnumbered by the dingoes.  

The Perentie is an interesting animal that is dying off because people are destroying their homes. If people keep doing this they will become extinct. Help keep these precious animals alive.