# What one-ton lizard used to live in Australia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960 "2008-01-18T01:41:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/1 "2008-01-18T01:41:08Z")
While reading _Guns, Germs, and Steel_, I came across an interesting tidbit about the large animal life that used to exist in Australia: [QUOTE=Guns Germs and Steel, p. 42] But Australia/ New Guinea formerly had its own suite of diverse big mammals, including gaint kangaroos, rhinolike marsupials call diprotodonts reaching the size of a cow, and a marsupial “leopard.” It also formerly had a 400-pound ostrichlike flightless bird, plus some impressively big reptiles, **including a one-ton lizard** , a giant python, and land-dwelling crocodiles. [/QUOTE] Sweet Zombie Jesus, a one-ton lizard?! What the heck was this thing? Do we have some artist concept art somewhere? Are the bones on display? If we don’t have bones, what is the proof behind this big fella? My google-fu fails me. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/2 "2008-01-18T01:48:50Z")
See here on the [Wikipedia megafauna page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_megafauna#Reptiles_2). ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/3 "2008-01-18T01:49:55Z")
A giant goanna. Like an overgrown Komodo dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/4 "2008-01-18T02:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=DrFidelius] A giant goanna… [/QUOTE] [Bush Tucker man]It’s a bit dry, but you can eat it[/BTM] ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/5 "2008-01-18T02:09:56Z")
> **[Megalania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalania)** > > Megalania (Varanus priscus) is an extinct species of giant monitor lizard, part of the megafaunal assemblage that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. It is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed, reaching an estimated length of 3.5 to 7 metres (11.5 – 23 ft), and weighing between 97–1,940 kg (214–4,277 lb), but the fragmentary nature of known remains make estimates highly uncertain. > Megalania is thought to have had a similar ecology to the living Komodo dragon (Varanus k... ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/6 "2008-01-18T02:21:45Z")
I’m astonished these haven’t shown up on a cheesy sci-fi channel movie. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/7 "2008-01-18T02:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] I’m astonished these haven’t shown up on a cheesy sci-fi channel movie. [/QUOTE] Not quite the real Megalania, but [close](http://imdb.com/title/tt0346811/). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/8 "2008-01-18T02:51:38Z")
It is interesting to note that the first natives of down under could well have seen this monster. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/9 "2008-01-18T03:04:20Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] It is interesting to note that the first natives of down under could well have seen this monster. [/QUOTE] Saw 'em. Killed 'em. Cooked 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/10 "2008-01-18T06:51:28Z")
Crocodile Ton Dee?? ?? ?? What? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/11 "2008-01-18T09:15:36Z")
Kerry Packer. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-ton-lizard-used-to-live-in-australia/433960/12 "2008-01-18T11:56:51Z")
Chortle