Because most existing species live in Australia, early researchers concluded that Varanus originated in Australia and subsequently island hopped westward along the Indo-Australian archipelago.

由于现存的大多数物种生活在澳大利亚，早期的研究人员得出结论，巨蜥属起源于澳大利亚，随后沿着印澳群岛向西跳跃。