Table 2.

Estimated times of divergence of the mitochondrial genomes of Indonesian and Comorean Latimeria

Estimate of branch length, % divergence	Substitution rate, % divergence/MY	Estimated time of divergence, MYA
3.52	Slow	8.3
3.52	Best	4.7
3.52	Fast	1.8
4.06	Slow	9.6
4.06	Best	5.5
4.06	Fast	2.0
4.66	Slow	11.0
4.66	Best	6.3
4.66	Fast	2.3

The three estimates of branch length correspond to the lowest, best, and highest branch lengths consistent with the data as calculated by assuming that mutations follow a Poisson process (15). For each branch length, three substitution rates were used (as described in the text), resulting in nine estimates of the time of divergence for the mitochondrial genomes of the Indonesian and African coelacanths.