[An.American.Expatriate]

What a staggering coincidence! We have sediment preserved long enough to show an actual example of each species in the chain, but all the sediment that might have preserved transitional forms was subsumed into the magma. I think you missed the point of the original quote. That being, the earth has not cooperated with science in preserving each transitional step by having the correct conditions present at the time. (Aww, poor scientists!!) But, due to this, any "transitional" form which we have found preserved, becomes by definition a known species - with missing transitional forms before/after. There is probably much validity in the assumptions made by science reagarding the "mutation" between one species and another (along a common path!!) - i.e. since we have fossil records of early man - "middle" man and the present, there are some conclusions we can draw regarding the "missing" ancestors. I think this is equally true for other species as well (reptiles for example). I do have a harder time grasping the "apes to man" steps. There seem to be some commonality between us, but the "missing link" (like the Holy Grail) appears to be more a matter of faith than one of, what an earlier poster refered to as, "scientific fact" (and I use it in the way he meant it). I admit that I do not follow the current news of evolution closely, so if my assertion is false, I invite correction - but, it seems that the only "missing link" the evolutionists are seeking is the one which explains man. No other species needs this (as I said - this may be entirely false!!).

[Thatcherite]

Perhaps this set of fossil skulls will help you. Creationists disagree amongst themselves on whether each one of these skulls are ape or human. Mainstream biologists say they are transitional between historic apes and modern human apes. By definition there will always be a "missing link" between what we find because the fossil record will always be incomplete. But the gaps get smaller and smaller.