Haplogroup K-M9

Y-DNA haplogroup K-M9 is an old lineage that arose approximately 47,000-50,000 years ago.^[8] Geneticist Spencer Wells had argued that because haplogroup K has a geographically wide distribution, the lineage probably originated near the central part of this range in the Middle East or Central Asia, possibly in Iran or Pakistan.^[1][2][3]

Basal K* is exceptionally rare and under-researched; while it has been reported at very low frequencies on many continents it is not always clear if the examples concerned have been screened for subclades.^[6][9] Confirmed examples of K-M9* now appear to be most common amongst some populations in Island South East Asia and Melanesia;^[10][11][12] it is also found in 2% of Italians, with frequencies reaching 8% among the Ladin people.^[13] K-M9* was also found in one individual from the Spanish province of Castellón with the surname Ferrer,^[14] and is common among the Bnei Menashe, a community of Indian Jews who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel.^[15]

Primary descendants of haplogroup LT are L (M20), also known as K1a, and T (M184), also known as K1b.^[6][7]

The descendants of haplogroup K2 include:

• K2a (detected in Paleolithic specimens Oase1 and Ust'-Ishim),^[16] the subclades of which include the major haplogroups N and O,^[17] and;
• K2b – the ancestor of haplogroups M, P, Q, R, S.^[18]

Haplogroup K-M9 tree ^{[6][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]}