Question

Differentiate between connecting links and missing links.

Answer 1

The living animals which possess characters of two different groups of animals are known as connecting links. Such animals establish continuity in the series by proving that one group has evolved from the other. Lung fish (e.g., Protopterus) is a connecting link between fish and amphibians. On the other hand, missing links are those extinct organisms which had the characters of two different groups of animals. They help in establishing the path of evolution. Archaeopteryx lithographica that lived in the Jurassic period shares the features of both reptiles and birds.