ridge-tailed monitors, black-headed monitors, Gould's monitors, and even Argus monitors. Perenties also eat smaller members of their own species; such is the case of a 2-m perentie killing and eating a 1.5-m perentie. Other lizard prey include central bearded dragons and long-nosed water dragons. Coastal and island individuals often eat a large number of sea turtle eggs and hatchlings, and hide under vehicles to ambush scavenging gulls. Mammalian prey includes bats, young kangaroos & other small marsupials, and rodents. They have also been occasionally seen foraging for food in shallow water. They are able to kill kangaroos and dismember those too large to be swallowed whole using their powerful forelimbs and claws. Although adults feed predominantly on vertebrate prey, young perenties eat mostly arthropods, especially grasshoppers and centipedes. Prey is typically swallowed whole, but if the food item is too large, chunks are ripped off for ease of consumption. Breeding The perentie can lay its eggs in termite mounds or in the soil. Gallery References Further reading Cogger, H. (1967). Australian Reptiles in Colour. Sydney: A. H. & A. W. Reed, External links Varanus Reptiles of Western Australia Reptiles described in 1845 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Reptiles of the Northern Territory Reptiles of Queensland Monitor lizards of Australia Apex predators