The missing link has finally been found. Darwinius masillae, (AKA Ida) is now considered the most compelling fossil evidence of human evolution since... that fossil they found last month... and the month before... and the month before...

Almost monthly a few new bones are found that are heralded as the 'missing link' in human evolution. A recently published article has produced a lot of media hype about Darwinius masillae, a 10 inch long primate that looks very much like a lemur. Slight variations in structure have lead to Ida receiving a new genus and species name that celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

The definition of a species varies depending on the source. Sometimes a species is defined as a group that can breed and produce fertile offspring, and other times the definition changes depending on where the animal lives. Charles Darwin recognized that there are millions of species and in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, Darwin demonstrated that some of those species were descendants of one kind of animal. Darwin demonstrated how pigeons produced a variety of new pigeon “species”, but they were all still the same “kind” of animal.

The Bible does not speak of genus or species but it does often speak of different kinds of animals. Genesis 1 says ten times that plants and animals are created “after their kind”. Genesis 6-8 tells us how God sent Noah two of each “kind” of animal to keep alive on the ark. The Biblical “kind” of animal is much broader than the modern “species” definitions that can sometimes get a little wild creating new genus names for animals with a different head shape.

So is Ida the missing link between ape like creatures and man?

Ida has fingernails – So do humans. So do lemurs (and other primates).

Ida has an opposable thumb – So do humans. So do lemurs (and other primates).

Ida has an opposable big toe – Humans do not. Lemurs do (and other primates).

Ida has a long tail – Humans do not. Lemurs do (and other primates).

Ida was 10 inches long – Humans are not. Baby lemurs are (and other primates).

Ida's skull is crushed beyond recognition – Skull is much more lemur like than human like.

Ida is a monkey – Humans are NOT.

Fossil was well preserved – Fossilization is a process that requires the subject to be buried rapidly in mud to preserve the specimen from predators, and to start the process of replacing the organic cells with minerals. This process is commonly the result of a flood.

No fossil is proof of evolution – Fossils can not tell you how old they are, how they died, where they died, how many kids they had, if those kids able to breed with other primates, what those kids looked like, if those kids were genetically superior throughout many successive generations to create a super-monkey-sub-human.

You can measure it, weigh it, X-ray it, CT it, but you can never determine if it was an ancestor to anyone. Science is based on observable, measurable, empirical evidence that can be tested in the present. Fossils are just a testimony of how God hates sin. The reason we find fossils is because God judged the sin of the world with a flood and everyone that rejected God's ark of salvation perished. Every time we find a fossil we should realize that we do not have to suffer the pending judgment for our sin but we can be saved from wrath through Christ by repenting of our sin and putting our trust in Christ alone.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005723