Goanna in Australia likened goannas to the South American lizards.. Over time, the initial vowel sound was dropped. A similar explanation is used to link possum to the American opossum. Another possibility is that the name might have derived from the South African term for a monitor lizard, "leguaan", as the Cape of Good Hope was a popular refresher stop for immigrant ships to Australia from Britain. For a list of all monitor lizards of the genus, see Complete list of genus "Varanus". The following are found in Australia. For the most part, in common names, "goanna" and "monitor" are interchangeable.
Creature in the Teacher Creature in the Teacher Creature in the Teacher is the 13th book in the Spooksville series. In the UK it is named "Alien Invasion!" Adam, Sally, Watch and the gang can't wait for the first day of school. Though, their new science teacher, Mr. Snakol, is "very" weird. Later in the day, everyone starts to think that he's an alien. Soon Sally goes missing and their suspicious grow. When the gang goes deeper into school grounds, they find out Mr. Snakol "is" an alien! Now the kids MUST find a way to stop him. What can a few kids do