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Molecular dating offers a tool for inferring the time of divergence between two lineages. In this study, we discuss how dated molecular reconstructions are informative of two different, albeit often intermingled, time estimates with regard to a fundamental process in island biogeography: the time of island colonization (TIC). We illustrate how stem age estimates provide information on the divergence between the extant island lineage and their closest relatives (i.e. the onset of lineage differentiation). Such estimates, however, are typically poor TIC predictors, as they are strongly affected by spatial and temporal uncertainty, particularly in cases of deep stem ages. Crown ages of endemic island lineages, in contrast, provide information on the temporal onset of island in situ diversification, and may represent a better proxy for TIC when the associated uncertainty is taken into account. Thus, the geographic and temporal …