Coat of arms of Canary Islands

Coat of arms of the Canary Islands
Details
Escutcheon	Seven grey islands represent the Canary Islands.
Supporters	Dogs, (Presa Canario)

The coat of arms of the Canary Islands is the central device of the flag of the Canary Islands. It reads "Oceano". The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community (Organic Law 10/82) on 16 August 1982.

The coat of arms displays on top the Spanish royal crown. The seven gray islands represent the Canary Islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean. The supporters are dogs from which the islands may derive their name, possibly from the Latin term Insularia Canaria, meaning Island of the Dogs, a name applied originally only to the island of Gran Canaria. It is thought that the dense population of an endemic breed of large and fierce dogs, like the Presa Canario, was the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans who established contact with the islands by the sea.