Approximately how long ago did the split occur between the Northern Hoiho subspecies and the Southern groups?
Answer
Between 5,000 and 16,000 years ago.
The recalibrated divergence timing, informed by comparing the living populations with extinct relatives such as M. a. waitaha and M. a. richdalei, places the initial separation between the Northern subspecies and the Southern groups significantly far in the past. The estimated timeframe for this crucial split is situated between 5,000 and 16,000 years ago. This ancient timeline positions the initial separation long before human arrival in New Zealand, which serves to challenge older models that had assumed the mainland population was a more recent arrival following human settlement patterns.
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