The Navassa rhinoceros iguana was first described by American herpetologist, Edward Drinker Cope in 1885. He named it Cyclura onchiopsis. In 1977, it was renamed Cyclura cornuta by Albert Swartz. It was then that scientists discussed whether the Navassa rhinoceros iguana should be listed as its own species or a subspecies of the two other species of rhinoceros iguanas. Since Navassa was only 2.1 square miles, it was never inhabited, but it is thought that the rhino iguanas were probably hunted to extinction as a food source which is what happened on other Caribbean islands. In the 1960's Navassa was used for U.S. military operations, but the rhino iguanas were already extinct. During this time guano (bat dung) was being mined as fertilizer on the island. This brought rat, goats, and feral dogs to the island. Any Navasssa rhino iguanas that might have survived until that point, would have soon disappeared. Expeditions in 1966 & 1967 yielded no evidence of iguanas nor did the expeditions in 1986 or 1999. David Blair, a well-known reptile scientist, holds on to the fact that some of these iguanas may still exist somewhere in captivity, but they would probably be very old specimens. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Navassa rhinoceros iguana could both be a candidate, but scientists would only have 2 - 3 specimens from 1885 to work with. Navassa Island would have to be cleared of all invasive species like goats, rats, and feral dogs. The introduction of the rhino iguanas could help the island ecosystems as iguanas help with seed dispersal. If the Navassa rhinoceros iguanas were brought to life, could they ever be reintroduced to its native homeland on Navassa, the uninhabited, 2.1 square mile island, in the Caribbean?