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Insects             Reptiles             Birds
 
The seven major   Canary Islands form a small volcanic archipelago 60 km from the coast of   Morocco. The islands are the product of a volcanic 'hotspot', a column of   magma that is thought to have remained stationary beneath the Earth's crust   since the Cretaceous. As the motion of the oceanic crust carried   newly-emerged islands away from the hotspot, new volcanoes formed in their   place, producing a chain of islands in a process likened to the movement of   a conveyor belt. Since the islands began forming in the Miocene (23-5   million years ago), differences in the age and distance of each from the   hotspot has resulted in each island having distinct ecosystems, from the laurisilva (subtropical laurel rainforest) of La Palma and La Gomera at   the western edge of the archipelago to the arid scrub and barren volcanic malpais (badlands) of Fuerteventura. Consequently, the wildlife of the   islands has adapted and evolved into a variety of forms found nowhere else,   with several species being restricted to individual islands. The islands are   also known for several species of endemic lizard and mammal. Canarian   wildlife has affinities with both African and European forms and several   species, such as the Algerian hedgehog, represent introductions from the   African mainland. The marine life, too, includes endemic, Mediterranean and   African lineages.
 
It   is a testament to the national importance of Canarian wildlife and habitats   that, until the 1990s, all but one of Spain's national parks were located in   the islands, one each on Tenerife, Lanzarote, La Palma and La Gomera. The   entire island of La Palma has been declared a biosphere reserve. Its laurisilva forest, harbouring numerous endemic species, is an example of   a relict ecosystem that once covered much of Europe, but which is today   confined to the Canaries, the Azores and Madeira. Many of the islands'   species, however, are threatened, and a number are now extinct. The lava   mouse (Malpaisomys insularis), Canary Islands giant rat (Canariomys   tamarani), Canary Islands quail (Coturnix gomerae) and the   unusual the flightless long-legged bunting (Emberiza alcoveri) were   all lost in historic or prehistoric times, probably due to the introduction   of cats and dogs to the islands by early Guanche colonists. The Eastern   Canary Islands chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis exsui) has been   lost since the beginning of the 20th Century. The same may soon be true of   the El Hierro giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi), if this animal is not   already extinct.
 
INSECTS
Almost   6,000 insect species are known from the archipelago, over a third of them   endemic. The Canary Islands has a small but interesting butterfly fauna,   containing a diverse mix of African, European, North American and Asiatic   species. At least five species are endemic; intriguingly, the Canarian blue   is most closely-related to species in Madagascar, at the opposite corner of   Africa. In common with other elements of the fauna, species and subspecies   of endemic Canarian butterflies, beetles and other insects are often   restricted to individual islands.
 
REPTILES
 
The   Canary Islands has seven or eight surviving species of endemic rock lizard,   all members of the endemic genus Gallotia. A further species is known   only from remains. These lizards are notable for the exceptional size (for   the family) of some members, a phenomenon known as insular gigantism. Two   species each of gecko and skink are also restricted to the archipelago.   Indeed, the islands' native reptile fauna may be 100% endemic, the few other   species known from the islands apparently being recent introductions.   Remains are known of an extinct Canarian giant tortoise, and five species of   marine turtle pass through the archipelago's waters. No snakes occur in the   Canary Islands.
 
BIRDS
 
Twelve bird   species are restricted to the Canary Islands, a high number for such a small   archipelago. Together with Madeira, the Canaries have been designated an   Endemic Bird Area by BirdLife International , and an urgent priority area for conservation.   Most restricted-range species on the islands are dependent on laurel forest,   with the majority being found on Tenerife. The Atlantic canary (Serinus   canaria) itself, named after the islands rather than vice versa, is most   common in the western islands of the archipelago and also occurs on Madeira   and in the Azores. The wild bird is a fairly unremarkable finch resembling   the closely-related serin, with rather dull grey-brown upperparts.
 
 
 
The oldest and   second-largest of the major Canary Islands, Fuerteventura is the closest to   Africa and is dominated ecologically by sparse scrub; the island's famous   winds, together with the effects of 20 million years of soil erosion and a   lack of rainfall, prevent woodland from taking hold, and trees only persist   in sheltered valleys. Instead, a range of endemic euphorbs and saltmarsh   species dominate the flora. Canarian endemics in all animal groups are known   from the island. Although the wildlife is generally depauperate relative to   the western islands, Fuerteventura is an important breeding site for the   endemic subspecies of the Egyptian vulture. The island's proximity to Africa   also makes it valuable for several species of seabird. Marine species   include manta rays, seahorses and a species of parrotfish.
 
Human   settlement and agriculture has, however, caused severe damage to   Fuerteventura's ecosystems. Much of the naturally scrub-covered island has   been rendered barren by grazing animals, mainly goats, accelerating the   natural process of desertification. The island's three native reptiles are   threatened by habitat loss, which ironically includes the destruction of   artificial stone walls on which the Canary Islands skink depends.   Development for tourism and industry threatens the island's most celebrated   inhabitant, the Canary Islands chat or Fuerteventura stonechat (Saxicola   dacotiae), a bird which is now extinct in the rest of the archipelago..