noun
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Non-scientific term typically referring to transitional fossils in human evolution
"Missing link" is a recently-discovered transitional fossil. It is often used in popular science and in the media for any new transitional form. The term originated to describe the intermediate form in the evolutionary series of anthropoid ancestors to anatomically modern humans (hominization). The term was influenced by the pre-Darwinian evolutionary theory of the Great Chain of Being and the now... Wikipedia
