page_title: Canary Islands
section_title: Prehistoric fauna
hierarchical_section_title: Canary Islands / Wildlife / Prehistoric fauna
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Fossil of Canariomys, an extinct mammal- Took the picture at Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre - Tenerife
context_page_description: The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish archipelago and the southernmost autonomous community of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, 100 kilometres west of Morocco at the closest point. It is one of eight regions with special consideration of historical nationality as recognized by the Spanish government. The Canary Islands are geographically located in the African Tectonic Plate, even though the archipielago is economically and politically European, as it is part of the European Union.
  The eight main islands are Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets: Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It also includes a series of adjacent rocks. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the most southerly region of Spain and the largest and most populated archipelago of Macaronesia.
context_section_description: Before the arrival of the Aborigines, the Canary Islands was inhabited by endemic animals, such as some extinct; giant lizards (Gallotia goliath), giant rats (Canariomys bravoi and Canariomys tamarani) and giant tortoises (Geochelone burchardi and Geochelone vulcanica), among others.
caption: Skull of Canariomys bravoi (Tenerife giant rat). It was an endemic species that is now extinct.
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