[Coyoteman]

It seems we only find fossils for species that once were successful. Where are the fossils of the unsuccessful ones? [I gather that was Ann Coulter’s actual question, as best as I can make it out without having closely followed her argument.] Or are we to suppose that unsuccessful species don’t live long enough to leave fossil evidence? That by itself might indicate a very serious “gap” in the fossil record: We have no evidence for the unsuccessful species. An “absence of evidence” has implications for the rigor of the theory….

How do you know we have no fossils from the unsuccessful ones? Can you tell from looking at a fossil whether it was successful or unsuccessful?

[PatrickHenry]

Transitional species -- while they are alive and thriving -- don't have any features that indicate they're transitional; and it's not apparent by looking at them that their distant descendants will be considerably different. They're happy creatures, well-adapted to their environments. But as it gradually gets colder (or hotter, or wetter, etc.) and only a few of their offspring survive long enough to reproduce, it will be obvious only in retrospect that they were eventually superseded by better-adapted forms.