Has The Missing Link Been Found?

In a statement, Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, described the missing link as follows:

"This is the first link to all humans. Ida represents the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor."

Ida's scientific name is Darwinius masillae. The fossil is somewhat lemur-like, and is thought to bridge that divide between lemurs and humans. It has primate-like features, including opposable thumbs, grasping hands, clawless "fingers" with nails, and relatively short limbs.

According to the promotional site, the missing link was found to have the following:

Ida's skeleton has some early anthropoid traits. These foreshadow physical features which later appear in monkeys, apes, and of course, humans. So although Ida was a primitive primate who lived 47 million years ago, her anatomy has remarkable similarities to our own.

The missing link site has a interactive diagram that allows you to click on similarities in the new fossil finds' structure and those of primates.

Brian Richmond, a biological anthropologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study, said:

"This specimen looks like a really early fossil monkey that belongs to the group that includes us."

Speaking regarding the missing link find by telephone from Norway, Dr. Hurum told the NYT:

“I realized at first it’s a primate. It just screams primate: opposable big toes and thumbs, no evidence of claws. This is like the Archaeopteryx of primate evolution.”