More precisely, Cottesloe beach and Rottnest Island in Perth, Western Australia.

He sent me several photos.

What is this?

This was on the beach and in the water!



I ain't going swimming with that in the water.

According to him, over there in the Indian Ocean, you already have to worry about killer jellyfish, sharks, poisonous octopuses and stone fishes.

On land near the beaches there are venomous snakes like the Dugite and big poisonous spiders.

Why would you want to go there?

Its just a lizard.

Yes all the crocs, spiders, snakes, sharks, poisonous fish and local women are there purely to keep you on your toes.

Here is another lizard we get on the eastern coast. Head to tail its about 5 feet long.

The last death attributed to a dugite was in 1993 after an elderly woman died in Spearwood, Perth.

I think it's some sort of skink. A bit of googling suggests a King Skink though I am more than likely mistaken. Apparently no members of the true Skink family (to which his majesty here appears to belong) are poisonous but take that with a pinch of salt!!

TBH, I think he's rather cute, with his chocolate brown scales and slightly guilty expression.



R

Col, why would you want to live in the USA with all the nasty critters there?

There are only two poisonous lizards on the planet, as
I recall from my early youth (when accumulating such
information seemed sensible); one is Gila Monster
(being named in part by the Spanish, it is pronounced
Heela) and how it got such a flashy name I don't know,
but lots of dire animals of far greater menace must
be envious. The other has the pedestrian moniker
beaded lizard, and must also be miffed, as the only
thing distinguishing it from the aforesaid monster
is the colour and pattern of its skin, and it lives
in pretty much the same region, SW US into Mexico.

And they are generally too slow to be a threat to
humans. Therefore, you don't generally have to
worry about lizards; well, except for the big
monitor lizards which depending on the species can
gulp a rabbit or a goat, and you wouldn't want them
in reach of your toddlers.

I see wikipedia advises now that the toxicity of
monitor bites, such as the Komodo dragon and a
couple of Aussie species (well, of course, how else?)
which was always attributed to the bacteria infested
rotting meat wedged in their teeth, may actually be
due to venom. As monitors are the closest relatives
of the Gila monster and its cousin, this doesn't seem
too unreasonable.

That's just a lizard?

It looks like the size of an Alligator!

There's nothing in that picture to demonstrate scale beyond the rocks, it could be any size. Besides, alligators range from a dozen feet down to a few inches depending on age, so that's hardly a condemnation.



The Jedi Master

It's a blue-tongue skink, also known as a "Bobtail" or maybe "Shingleback". Not poisonous, but can give a good bite. Usually see them in the 6-9 inch length range. Solid and heavy. People keep them as pets in some places too. I think you can actually find them in American pet shops on occasion.

I see one nearly every time I go to the beach. First one I ever caught was on Rottnest Island. (also see lot of the dugites at the beach too)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-tongued_skink

As you can see if you read the wiki, the colours and varieties can vary quite a bit. The one in your friend's photo looks typical of the ones you see at Cottesloe.

exactly why I live in New England, too cold for any of those type of animals that can kill you. Even our Blue Sharks are harmless. We do get the Great Whites out on Cape Cod and have had a few Shark bites over the last 10 yrs, but nothing like their normal living area...

I stand corrected. Thank you Hog.

Cheers

R

Yep Blue Tongue lizard, as kids most aussies have had one or at least picked one up and been bitten. Very cool creature

Perfectly harmless creature.

If you want bad, we got BAD creatures, but the skink ain't one of them.

It's a blue tongue lizard.

They are very docile and you can pick them up if you want.

No danger whatsoever

The sharks off rottnest - that's another matter. Which is why I stopped surfing around there!

You're right, bumfluff, it's a blue tongue. Jeez we have those in the yard every day.

Lovely things, my daughter has a pet blue tongue.

Main problem...defenceless against dogs. Bloody pity.

Blue Tongues are gorgeous.

Our dog has claimed four them, so sad. She would consider them a toy to play with.

We bring them to the local reptile shelter (part of a local uni campus)but it's usually futile. We have partitioned off a 2x1m corner of our yard to give them a refuge from her, hope they stick around.

You have to admit it!

That's a big plane!

It's a miracle it actually gets off the ground and flies without the wings coming off!

Not as big as the An-225 or Spruce Goose, though.




The Jedi Master

Pretty close, though:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Giant_planes_comparison.svg

#%&*$# if I know. It is Oz. Everything there is trying to kill you after all.

Thank God for NZ...

Oz:



New Zealand:



Oz:



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