Molecular dating: ape bones agree with chicken entrails

Abstract

Molecular time estimates, especially those that employed the 310 million years ago (Mya) date of mammal-bird divergence as the calibration point, were criticized in recent publications. In this article, we estimate the divergence time of primates and rodents, primates and artiodactyls and the different great ape species by using two independent calibration-time ranges and maximally conservative error estimates. We observed a variation of approximately +/-15-20% for most of the molecular time estimates in the 10-100 Mya range. The estimated range of the primate-rodent divergence time, 84-121 Mya, includes the date obtained with the 310 million years calibration point (110 Mya). We conclude that molecular time estimates remain useful tools of evolutionary biology, although utmost caution is required when interpreting the results.