Goanna smaller than the arm of an adult human. The smallest of these, the short-tailed monitor ("Varanus brevicuda") reaches only in length. They survive on smaller prey, such as insects and mice. Goannas combine predatory and scavenging behaviours. A goanna will prey on any animal it can catch and is small enough to eat whole. Goannas have been blamed for the death of sheep by farmers, though most likely erroneously, as goannas are also eaters of carrion and are attracted to rotting meat. Most goannas are dark-coloured, with greys, browns, blacks and greens featuring prominently; however, white is also common. Many
Goanna koalas) as a tourist scarer, probably more convincing due to the reptiles' carnivorous nature and fearsome appearance. A common tale was that the bite of a goanna was infused with a powerful, incurable venom. Every year after the bite (or every seven years), the wound would flare up again. For many years, herpetologists generally believed goannas were nonvenomous, and lingering illness from their bites was due solely to infection and septicaemia as a result of their saliva being rife with bacteria from carrion and other food sources. However, in 2005, researchers at the University of Melbourne announced that oral venom