Not quite the missing link but close enough. a near-complete skeleton of a small 47 million-year-old creature found in Germany has gone on display in New York.

Scientists say the fossil-find should shed light on early evolutionary patterns in monkeys, apes and humans. About the size of a small cat, the animal has four legs and a long tail.

Researchers say they do not think it's a direct ancestor of monkeys and humans, but it does suggest what such an ancestor could have looked like.

Certainly, the remarkably complete nature of the skeleton is giving scientists valuable insight into the evolution of primates.