Canarium "madagascariense" fruit after being handled and parasitized by Daubentonia madagascariensis, the Aye-aye.
The revision of Canarium (Burseraceae) by Leenhouts (1959) identifies a group of related species ("denticulatum Group") that include: endemic species on the Andamans (C. manii), Sri Lanka (C. zeylanicum), Mauritius (C. paniculatum), as well as C. madagascariense in Madagascar and E. Africa (further taxonomic work is needed in Madagascar to delimit additional species within highly variable "madagascariense"), and C. schweinfurthii in C. and W. Africa. A combination of both primitive and advanced features in C. schweinfurthii suggest long isolation from the rest of the group. On 7.8 MY Mauritius, C. paniculatum probably represents a recent dispersal from Madagascar.
