[4] John Edward Gray described the species in 1838 as Hydrosaurus gouldii,[3] noting the source of the type specimen as "New Holland" and distinguishing the new varanid by "two yellow streaks on the sides of the neck" and small flat scales at the orbits.

[2] An earlier description, Tupinambis endrachtensis Péron, F. 1807, was determined as likely to refer to this animal, but the epithet gouldii was conserved and a new specimen designated as the type.

The decision of a nomenclatural commission (ICZN) was to issue an opinion suppressing the earlier name Tupinambis endrachtensis and the name Hydrosaurus ocellarius Blyth, 1868, that were unsatisfactory to some who had commented on the case, but provided taxonomic certainty for future revisions of the associated taxa.

[6] The specific name, gouldii, is assumed to be a Latinised form of the surname of an associate of the describing author, the English ornithologist John Gould,[7] who was actively assembling specimens of fauna from Australia but is not thought to have any direct connection to this species.

[5] In some Aboriginal languages, the sand goanna is called bungarra,[8] a term also commonly used by non-Aboriginal people in Western Australia.

It inhabits a vast range throughout Australia, reaching an average length of 140 cm (4.6 ft) and weighing as much as 6 kg (13 lb).