7 Major "Missing Links" Since Darwin

In this rather fantastic photo segment from last year, National Geographic discusses the 7 Major “Missing Links” since Darwin. We’ve all heard the term “Missing Link” thrown around by skeptics and religious zealots alike.

The basic principle is that the “transitional fossil,” i.e. the fossil that actually connects two points of the evolutionary path has yet to be discovered. The biggest example is that there is a “missing link” between humans and apes.

The problem with that particular skeptics’ argument is that there’s no missing space. No Seriously, there’s not. There is nothing major missing in our fossil history. Scientists can document human evolution back to the common ancestor we have with modern apes.

So shut up.

I’m sorry, that wasn’t very scientific of me. But seriously, the battle is lost. You’re wrong. Science is bipartisan, facts are facts. If you still choose to, say, NOT believe in evolution… well, you’re wrong. Okay, sorry /rant.

In fact, recent studies discovered that modern humans even mated with our Neanderthal relatives.

Regardless, National Geographic says “The discoveries of these and other ‘missing link’ species have helped dispel what Darwin called ‘the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory’ of evolution--the former lack of transitional fossil species.”

Tiktaalik – The “Fishapod”

The Tiktaalik is seen as evidence of when our aquatic ancestors began to move ashore. The Tiktaalik forms a strong branch of evolutionary evidence with eh Acanthostega (the most primitive tetrapod thusfar known).

Archaeopteryx: The First Bird

Archaeopteryx, the earliest known flying bird, was discovered within just two years of the publication of On the Origin of Species. It was the first discovery to fulfill Darwin’s prediction that fossil evidence would link major species groups. The Archaeopteryx linked dinosaurs and birds. Social/Popular acceptance of this theory has only been obtained recently. Even I can remember learning about dinosaurs as terrible lizard predators in the early 90’s (more than a century after Archaeopteryx was discovered).

Amphistium: The Halfway Flatfish

If you’ve ever seen a picture of a modern, flounder or halibut, you’re going to agree that they look pretty strange. The eyes sit on the top of the head, which is actually the side of the juvenile fish’s body. These fish lay flat on the ocean floor (thus their common name). It was argued by skeptics that because there was known fossil record of eye-migration over generations, that it must have been the work of intelligent design. In 2008. when Amphistium was had eyes that weren’t quite on one side of its head, but also weren’t quite on opposite sides of its head, properly demonstrating the “migration” of eyes over generations.

Ambulocetus: The Walking Whale

Discovered in 1922, the 50-million-year-old skeleton suggests that the creature was about to walk on four legs both on land AND in the water. Explaining how marine mammals, which possess vestigial limbs came from the land and went back to the ocean was a major evolutionary hurdle for Darwin. Ambulocetus is called “the most complete, best studied, and clearest case of something with a whale’s head, the beginnings of an aquatic lifestyle with webbed hands and feet, but still fully quadrupedal.”

Hyracotherium/Eohippus: The Dawn Horse

While this animal is known today as Hyracotherium (“hyrax-like beast”) it was originally called Eohippus (“Dawn Horse”). When Darwin went public with the theory of evolution, there was no hard evidence to show the linking of prehistoric species to their modern-day counterparts. Until Hyracotherium. When it was discovered in the southern US in 1867 it kicked off a series of fossil discoveries depicting the evolution of horses over 55 million years.

Thrinaxodon: The Emerging Mammal

Identified from fossils in both South America and Antartica (in and of itself supporting Pangea’s existence) this proto-mammal emerged on reptile filled Earth about 245 million years ago. Thrinaxodon serves as a practical “perfect” intermediate between mammals and reptiles and it has played a key role in unveiling the evolution of mammals. It was a cat-sized burrower that had scales and laid eggs, but like mammals, it had whiskers, warm blood, and (scientists suspect) a fur coat.

Homo ergaster: The “Turkana Boy” Species

Homo ergaster was a small-brailed but tall human species with body proportions similar to modern humans. The 1.6-million-year-old fossil of a child found in 1984 is often called Turkana Boy. Since the discovery of Java Man, the original “missing link” in the 1890s, the human tree has been easily populated with rich fossil evidence linking modern humans to ancient apes. One scientist is quoted as saying that Turkana Boy “is a true intermediate between modern humans and other primates.”

(All photos in this post are from HERE)