What is the largest living reptile found in Australia?

The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile found in Australia.

Saltwater crocodiles inhabit coastal waters, estuaries, rivers, swamps, and billabongs across northern Australia. Despite their common name, they are not restricted to salt water. They can travel far inland through rivers and tolerate both marine and freshwater environments.

Large males can exceed 6 metres in length, although such individuals are uncommon. Their broad snouts, powerful jaws, muscular tails, and protective bony plates make them highly effective aquatic predators. Females are considerably smaller than males.

Australia’s saltwater crocodile populations were severely reduced by hunting before legal protection was introduced in the 1970s. Numbers later recovered in many northern regions. The species is also found across parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, so “saltwater crocodile” describes a widespread Indo-Pacific animal rather than one found only in Australia.