Radiation in The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are from 22 million years (Fuerteventura) to 0.8 million years (El Hierro) old. 43 endemic species of Dysdera are found on the volcanic archipelago of the Canary Islands, 100 km off the northwestern coast of Africa. 36 of these species probably descended from a single ancestor; in total two to four colonization events are assumed. This probably happened by rafting, or even more likely by transport on floating islands, for Dysdera is not known to use ballooning. D. lancerotensis is the only species where an independent origin from continental ancestors is unquestionable; it was originally described as a subspecies of D. crocata. While some of the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos have been colonized from the Canaries, the Azores have been independently colonized from the continent.
The radiation of Dysdera is surpassed on the Canary Islands by the snail genus Napaeus (Stylommatophora: Enidae) with more than 50 endemic species, the millipede genus Dolichoiulus (Julidae) with 46, and the beetle genera Attalus (Malachiidae) with 51 and Laparocerus (Curculionidae) with 68 endemic species.
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