Mis-interpretation of an Incomplete Fossil Record

(A) The complete evolutionary history of three extant and one extinct species lineages would show gradual transitions between these forms. (B) A relatively complete fossil record preserves only one of the speciation events, but still shows evidence of gradual change. (C) A typically incomplete fossil record shows only scattered forms through time. (D) Reconstruction of the evolutionary history based on co-occurence and similarity of forms incorrectly shows Species 2 as having evolved from the extinct species, and seriously underestimates the time of orgin of Species 1 from the ancestral lineage of Species 3.