The perentie is the giant monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia, and growing to a length of 2.5 metres, it is the fourth-largest living lizard on earth. Found west of the Great Dividing Range in the arid areas of Australia, it is rarely seen because of its shyness and the remoteness of much of its range from human habitation. Its status in many Aboriginal cultures is evident in the totemic relationships, part of the Ngiṉṯaka dreaming, and bush tucker.