Question

Give an example of a connecting link.

Answer 1

Hint: An intermediate or transitional state is the link between two systematic classes of species. The other name of the connection link is missing. It has characters that are common to both of these groups on either side of its position. It is therefore an evolutionary line.

Complete answer:
Living animals which have the characteristics of two different groups of animals are known as connecting animals.

Connecting link is an organism with characteristics of two different groups of organisms, e.g. duck-billed platypus (scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a link between reptiles and mammals.

That it has mammary glands to feed its young ones like other mammals, e.g. human beings, cows, buffalo, etc., and that it lays hard shelled eggs with a large amount of yolk like reptiles, so that duck platypus is a link between two evolutionary groups viz reptiles and mammals.

Lungfish: – Lungfish has both fish and amphibian characters. It resembles the fish in having paired fins, gills and scales over the body; on the other hand, it also has the ability to breathe through the lungs, which is the characteristic property of the amphibians. Thus, lungfish acts as a link between fish and amphibians.This suggests that amphibious organisms have developed from fish in the past.

Note: Connecting link refers to plants and organisms having characteristics related to two different groups. Peripatus, for example, is considered to be a link between annelids and arthropods. It has characteristics such as segmented body, thin cuticle and parapodium-like organs that are similar to annelids. It also shows tracheal respiration and an open circulatory system similar to the arthropod.