Missing Link on EARTH Magazine

"Missing link" or major hype?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Jørn Hurum, one of the scientists that announced the fossil find on Tuesday. 2009 AETN.

A squirrel-sized primate that lived 47 million years ago in the rainforests of Europe may be the common ancestor of monkeys, apes and humans, according to scientists who announced the discovery of the “missing link” fossil yesterday at a press conference. The well-preserved fossil has been at the center of a whirlwind PR blitz, including a History Channel documentary airing next week and an upcoming book — yet some scientists say the bones don’t live up to the hype.

New cousin joins primate family tree - but it's also no missing link

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Teeth and jaw remains of _Afradapis_. Erik Seiffert et al., Nature 2009

Blogging on EARTH

Darwinius — the purported primate “missing link” that made headlines last spring — is back, sort of. Scientists have now found a close cousin of the primate — and they say the new fossil is no more a missing link than Darwinius was.

Seal missing link found in the Arctic

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

A reconstructed skeleton of _Puijila darwini_, a possible missing link between modern seals, walruses and sea lions and their terrestrial ancestors. Canadian Museum of Nature

Puijila darwini's skeleton. The fossil was discovered in Canada's High Arctic in 2007. Canadian Museum of Nature

A newly discovered web-footed mammal may be a “missing link” between land-based and marine pinnipeds, a group that includes seals, walruses and sea lions. The find, occurring on the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s "On the Origin of Species," may shed new light on the land-to-sea animal evolutionary theory.