Which of the following regarding transitional fossils is true?

Transitional fossils serve as critical evidence in the study of evolutionary biology, as they document the gradual changes that occur in species over time. The statement regarding their incompleteness and difficulty of finding is accurate because the fossilization process is rare and depends on specific environmental conditions. Most organisms do not fossilize; thus, only a fraction of species from any given time period has been preserved as fossils. This results in an incomplete record, making it challenging to locate transitional fossils that illustrate the gradual evolution from one species to another.

Moreover, the fossil record is inherently patchy due to geological processes and the selective nature of fossilization. As a result, while we have some examples of transitional forms, there are many gaps in our understanding of evolutionary history. This characteristic highlights both the importance and the limitations of transitional fossils in understanding evolutionary processes.