According to the theory of punctuated equilibria, why does the fossil record include.....?

Question

According to the theory of punctuated equilibria, why does the fossil record include very few intermediate forms?

Answer 1

The theory of punctuated equilibrium states that species show up in "fits and starts". In other words, you'll go a long time with the status quo and, then, BANG, a bunch of species appear!
Now, don't get me wrong- I'm not saying it's magic and they appear instantly. I'm saying that there's an "evolution explosion" and a bunch appear in a very short geological time frame.
So, if this were to be true, you wouldn't expect many intermediate forms. That's because the species appeared "suddenly" and WITHOUT many intermediate forms before them.