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Another Transitional Form

By jrosenhouse on June 15, 2006.

MSNBC is reporting the discovery of yet another transitional form, this time linking ancient and modern birds:

Dozens of fossils of an ancient loonlike creature that some say is the missing link in bird evolution have been discovered in northwest China.

The remains of 40 of the nearly modern amphibious birds, so well-preserved that some even have their feathers, were found in Gansu province, researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science. Previously only a single leg of the creature, known as Gansus yumenensis, had been found.

“Gansus is a missing link in bird evolution,” said Matt Lamanna of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

“Most of the ancestors of birds from the age of dinosaurs are members of groups that died out and left no modern descendants. But Gansus led to modern birds, so it's a link between primitive birds and those we see today,” Lamanna, a co-leader of the research team, said in a telephone interview.

It was about the size of a modern pigeon, but similar to loons or diving ducks, he explained, and one of the fossils even has skin preserved between the toes, showing that it had webbed feet.

Of course, there is a fair amount of imprecision here, as typically happens in media accounts of scientific discoveries. There is no such thing as “the” missing link. In fact, scientists tend to avoid the term “missing link” altogether. What we can say is that these fossils have features that are transitional between those of ancient birds and those of modern birds. The idea that modern birds are the product of evolution becomes far more likely given the discovery of these fossils.

At any rate, yet another victory for evolution.

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Why do you think this is "yet another victory for evolution"? Evolutionists are awfully good at making assumptions. You say that these fossils have features that are transitional between those of ancient and modern birds...it looks like a bird...the same birds as we have today, there is no reason to think it is a transitional creature. it is simply a species of bird that became extinct and is probably not as old as scientists think. This Lamanna guy has nothing to back his comment: "But Gansus led to modern birds, so it's a link between primitive birds and those we see today." Well, Lamanna, why don't you explain!? It's because he has nothing to back it! That seems to be a common theme among the articles that I read about evolutionists and their little "discoveries."

When one of the evolutionists uses any science at all, I'll probably crap my pants.

Chance and Jon...you are absolutely right. I'm relieved that there are still some logical, reasonable people out there that laugh in the faces of these evolutionists that call themselves "scientists." It is such a joke. Their theories are based on nothing but ASSUMPTIONS. To me it is actually pretty funny to see them running around trying to find "missing links" when they never will, because they are just that, "MISSING!!!!" a.k.a....they don't exist and never will

AL -

You might to check your reading comprehension on Chance's post.

And sometimes when things are missing at one time they turn up at another. Since when does missing mean forever missing. A "missing link" in evolution is just a fossil form between two other forms, that hadn't been seen before. Every new find creates two new "missing links" by definition. They are not pieces of evidence the evolutionist has to find, otherwise his theory is wrong. The theory has already been proven well beyond any serious doubt. These fossils just help to illuminate the actual pathway evolution took.