Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis

''Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis'', the Navassa Island iguana, was a subspecies of rhinoceros iguana that was found on the Caribbean island of Navassa.

Taxonomy

Its specific name, ''cornuta'', is the feminine form of the Latin adjective ''cornutus'', meaning "horned" and refers to the horned projections on the snouts of males of the species. The species was first described by American herpetologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1885.

In 1885, Cope first described the lizard as two species in the same paper: ''C. onchiopsis'' and ''C. nigerrima'', due to the animal's almost black coloration. A year later he renamed it as ''C. onchiopsis''. Herpetologists Albert Schwartz and Richard Thomas officially reclassified it as a subspecies of ''C. cornuta'' 90 years later, based on the writings of Thomas Barbour and Robert Mertens, yet presented numerous data relating to scale count that suggested otherwise.Schwartz, A. and R. Thomas. (1975). ''A check-list of West Indian amphibians and reptiles''. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh.(1):1-216. In 1977, Schwartz and Carey wrote “It is even conceivable that ''onchiopsis'' should be considered a species distinct from ''C. cornuta'' on the basis of this single character (distinctly smaller dorsolateral scales) (plus perhaps other modalities), but to do so would obscure its obvious affinities with the latter species.”Schwartz, A., and M. Carey. (1977). "Systematics and evolution in the West Indian iguanid genus ''Cyclura''". ''Studies in Fauna of the Curaçao Caribbean Islands'' 53:15-97. The IUCN still considers the iguana to be its own species ''C. onchiopsis''.

In 1999, Dr Robert Powell wrote that, based on these prior studies, this animal should be elevated to full species status, distinct from ''C. cornuta''.

Description

These lizards varied in length from , with skin colors ranging from a steely gray to a dark green and even brown, and possessed a bony-plated pseudo-horn or outgrowth which resembled the horn of a rhinoceros.

Status

Navassa Island was visited in 1966 and 1967 and no animals were present. An entomologist visited the island again in 1986 and saw no signs of any iguanas, although he was not specifically looking for them. An extensive search again in 1999 failed to find any iguanas. Military occupation of the island prior to the 1960s may have been responsible for its demise, or years of mining guano for fertilizer; the introduction of feral dogs, goats, and rats may have also been to blame. Dr Robert Powell's research while at the Department of Natural Sciences, Avila College, Kansas City, Missouri, suggests that the iguanas disappeared before the introduction of feral species, as a result of habitat change or hunting by man. Noted herpetoculturist David Blair maintains that some of these animals may remain in captivity somewhere in the world, but admits they would be very aged specimens.

References

External links

Profile on Cyclura.com

''Cyclura''
The Reptile Database

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5199084

cornuta onchiopsis
Extinct reptiles
Endemic fauna of Navassa Island
Extinct animals of Haiti
Reptiles of the Caribbean
Reptile extinctions since 1500
Extinct animals of North America