I was hoping this topic would get promoted.
The "missing link" idea is a flawed understanding of what the Theory of Evolution actually states. Technically speaking,
every species is "transitional," being between its ancestors and descendants. Transitional species are literally all around us.
Let's start with fossilization. Very few dead organisms become fossilized - it's an incredibly rare event, and we are truly lucky to find many of them at all. We can hardly expect to find a complete family tree leading directly from one organism through gradual changes over generations until a new species is formed - fossilization is just too rare to reasonably expect such a thing.
With humans, Creationists tend to ask for a "missing link" between man and ape, assuming that we should be looking for some mix-and-match half-ape, half-man creature. This is a false assumption. We have already seen several species which appear to have evolved from our common ancestor. Creationists say that these species are simply "another species of ape," but that's the point. We have several examples of ape-like creatures gradually attaining more human-like features (standing upright, etc.). The fact that we don't have a fossilized example of every single generation in between does not invalidate the theory that humans evolved from an ape-like common ancestor.
For other species, we can sho a gradual change over time. Archeopteryx, while a "rare find," still shows an obvious link between birds and disosaurs. Most dinosaurs wer practically birds anyway - many species had bone structure (specifically the shape of the hips)
identical to that of birds, while others still resembled reptiles. The fossil record also shows an excellent evolutionary path for horses gradually evolving from rodent-like mammals.
Now lets move on to modern species. Only bacteria and the like will actually give us true observational results (as in, directly watching the strain change over generations), because of their rapid reproduction, but we can also see the effects of evolution in the various species of animals on the planet today.
Let's start with the Bombardier Beetle. For those who don't know, this beetle has the remarkable adaptation of being able to literally shoot a chemical spray at a predator. It has an internal combustion chamber with just the right combination of chemicals, enzymes, an inhibitor chemical, and a tough chamber wall to allow it to "fire" its biological cannon without exploding itself. Creationists point to this species often as "irreducibly complex" becuase, if the exact composition of the biological cannon are altered in any way, the insect would either blow up (not great for evolution, obviously), or simply not fire. Obviously this creature must have been created fully formed.
What the Creationists fail to realize, however, is that there are other species of beetle closely related to the Bombardier who have the
exact same chemicals present in their bodies. They are used for entirely different purposes, but the similarities show that they have a common ancestor, and that the Bombardier simply evolved in such a way that the species is able to use those same chemicals for a vastly different purpose.
The similarities between multiple species is commonplace. There are similarities in bone structures (the spinal columns of man and ape, for instance), behavioral similarities (bee species on different continents who have the same behavioral patterns), biochemical similarities (human blood-precipitation agents are still 64% effective in gorillas), and even the embryos of vastly different species look nearly identical.
Next we have various organs. Some organs are vestigial in some creatures and fully functional in others. For instance, the human appendix is basically a useless liability, and we remove it if issues arrise with no change to our body functions. It's an "evolutionary leftover" that our ancestors used but we no longer require. Other organs have different uses in related species. Most insects have two pairs of wings, but flies differ in that they only use
one pair for flight - the other pair is still there, but is used for stability instead. Many fish have organs that produce a small electric charge that they use for navigation, while others have the exact same organ that can produce a much stronger charge and give predators a nasty shock. All of this is evidence of species transformation. All of these features likely had a common ancestor, and the descendants branched out using the organ for different purposes.
The "missing links" to species are literally all around us. Related species can have identical features that have different uses. Organisms often have organs useful to more primitive relatives, but are no longer usefull or needed in the "more advanced" species. Structural similarities over a wide base of related species show common ancestry.
We see the evidence for evolution every single day. If evolution did NOT happen, what accounts for these similarities? Why would one organism have an organ necessary for its survival, and another organsim that looks similar have a nearly identical organ that is not necessary and is in fact a health risk?
The fossil record is only a small part of the evidence for evolution, yet it supports the theory in every way. Modern species show evidence all around us of features and organs gradually evolving across multiple related species, and finding different uses or no use at all while still remaining present.
With all of this evidence, and more, Creationists still point to "transitional species," saying that these similarities are irrelevant - they are not a clear "in-between" form. This is based on a false understanding of evolution,. This isn't X-Men or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we aren't looking for Bigfoot, and other popularized examples of evolution (like a few episodes of Star Trek) have no basis in reality. We aren't going to find every single generation in between two species because fossilization is so rare, and we aren't looking for Chimaera-like half-breeds. When the evidence is actually examined in light of the
actual predictions of Evolutionary Theory, the evidence clearly supports common ancestry, and gradual changes over time guided by natural selection.
Every time a fundy breaks the laws of thermodynamics, Schroedinger probably kills his cat.
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