Niche expansion in the spider Wendilgarda galapagensis (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae) on Cocos Island

Wendilgarda galapagensis, a species endemic to Cocos Island, shows an unusually wide variation in habitat choice, web design, and construction behavior. Differences between W. galapagensis and close relatives are probably derived rather than vestiges of characters of a common ancestor. Cocos lsland has an impoverished fauna, and the derived characters of W. galapagensis may have evolved in response to reduced interspecific competition, reduced predation, or increased intraspecific competition