PHOTOS: 7 Major "Missing Links" Since Darwin (National Geographic)

[struggle4progress]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/photogalleries/darwin-birthday-evolution/

[Norrin Radd]

1. Interesting. Thanks.

[Bryn]

2. I enjoy this kind of history

thumb up! Thanks

[dipsydoodle]

3. Ta for that

Some had never occured to me - origin of the whales for example.

[Enthusiast]

4. Today we see many species

of mammal adapted to aquatic life yet not to the level of whales. Half way, if you will. Seals and otters, for example.

And all this terrestrial species to aquatic species happened before in a perfect example of convergent evolution. During the Mesozoic some reptile groups became progressively more dependent on an aquatic life until they took on a clearly dolphin-like appearance. Seen here.
http://www.prehistoricsillustrated.com/welcome.html

[FatDave]

5. This is one of the things I love about the theory of evolution.

It is predictive. It actually predicts future discoveries.

There are gaps in the fossil record. We scratch our heads and say well, we've got creature A and creature C, but there must have been a creature B in between. Then, lo and behold, we find a fossil of creature B. And we always find it buried at the exact depth we would expect, in a sedimentary layer in between creatures A and C.

And that's just the fossil record. Modern DNA evidence corroborates the fossil record. As does good old comparative anatomy.

Choke on that, you stupid fucking fundies.

[dalaigh lllama]

6. Wonder why they're still calling them "Missing Links"?

These aren't missing anymore. :shrug:

:D

[FiveGoodMen]

7. But they've created twice as many missing links in their wake.

Tell a fundie. See if that's not the gist of their response!