The Missing Link

A critical gap in the fossil record showing the evolutionary link between ape and man.

The British geologist, and close friend of Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell (1797-1875) popularised the term "missing link" in reference to hypothetical fossil remains that exhibit traits of both an ancestor and a descendent, and thus provide evidence of a clear evolutionary line of heredity. Today, the term - which is more of a popular one than a scientific one - is often used by critics claiming that these missing fossils suggest that evolution is unsound theory.

In 1863, Lyell published Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, the book that would introduce the concept of the "missing link". As a geologist, Lyell had been investigating what he knew to be layers of sedimentary rock deposited at different times, and he had noticed that there was a distinct difference in the appearance of fossils found in adjacent sedimentary layers. He brought in the term "missing link" to explain that sudden unexplained transition.

Archaeopteryx lithographica could be considered the "missing link" between therapod dinosaurs and birds.

Coincidentally, 1863 was the year in which someone first used the phrase to criticise the theory of evolution. In that year, a Scottish doctor, John Crawford, said that in order for evolution to be true, there must be some fossil evidence to show how "man came from a monkey".

In the evolutionary process, organisms evolve across generations and through long periods of time. The time intervals involved give rise to the expectation that animals existing as intermediary stages in between two related species will show shared traits of both. The idea of missing links in the fossil record has captivated people since its introduction, especially those who are troubled by evolution's assertions. But as a scientific notion, the idea of the missing link is largely useless. All organisms that point the way toward the evolution of new species can be considered transitional, and thus each is a missing link in the vast chain of evolving species. Verification of the theory of evolution does not hinge on the identification of missing link fossils.
#busy #adsactly #mgsc #trevonjb #craigrant #vincentb #utopian-io #paleontology #fossil #evolution

Source:
"1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think"
-- by Robert Arp.

Thanks for visiting....