 For example, the only pinniped ever known to the Caribbean, the Caribbean monk seal once occurred in Jamaican waters and has now been driven to extinction.Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), introduced to Jamaica in 1872 to reduce rat populations that damaged commercial sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) crops, prey on several Jamaican species, including the critically endangered, Jamaican iguana (Cyclura collei), and have been implicated in the historical population declines and extinctions of many others.Other wildlife species inhabiting the island include, the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), and the endemic Homerus Swallowtail (Papilio homerus),which is the largest butterfly species in the Western Hemisphere.