The Burseraceae are distributed throughout the world and primarily in the tropics, especially Malaysia, Africa, and Central and South America. The three tribes can be linked to a specific region of the world, although this is not obligatory. For example, members of the tribe Protieae are generally found in South America, those of the Bursereae are found in Africa and Mesoamerica, while members of the Canarieae are found in Malaysia. However, each tribe has a representative genus present in all the tropical regions: "Dacryodes" (Canarieae), "Protium" (Protieae), and "Commiphora" (Bursereae). The Burseraceae are found in a variety of habitats, including hot, dry desert and savannah, as well as in coastal mangrove forest and rain forest habitats. One study found that the family originated in North America during the Paleocene (about 65 Mya), when the earliest fossils of the Sapindales are found. During the Early to Middle Eocene (about 53 Mya), family members dispersed to eastern Laurasia (i.e. Europe and Asia) via the Boreotropical Land Bridge and the continents in the Southern Hemisphere, which is now the area of the greatest generic diversity of this family.