Navassa Island Iguana (Cyclura cornuta ssp. onchiopsis)

The Navassa Island Iguana is a subspecies of the Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura cornuta (Bonaterre)) that was restricted to the tiny and uninhabited Navassa Island and is sometimes treated as a distinct species.

The animals reached sizes of 60 cm to about 1,3 m and were dark green, grey to nearly blackish grey or brown in color.

The Navassa form was described in 1885, it disappeared sometimes after completely unnoticed, the reasons for its extinction are probably mainly found in habitat destruction by guano mining as well as predation by introduced dogs and rats.

*********************

edited: 16.05.2021