Editing Goanna (section)

==Etymology==
The name ''goanna'' is derived from [[iguana|''iguana'']]. Early European bush settlers in Australia likened goannas to the South American lizards.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1591315 |last1=MacDonald |first1=Donald |title=Nature Notes and Queries: Goanna or Iguana |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=21,990 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=19 January 1917 |access-date=8 November 2018 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Over time, the initial vowel sound was dropped. A similar explanation is used to link [[Phalangeriformes|possum]]s to the American [[opossum]].

The South African term for a monitor lizard is ''[[leguaan]]'' and this word is also from Spanish 'la iguana'.{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}}