Explanation

Creating a filter: The sentence as written has a comparison. "Stronger evidence than now." The written form isn't expressing the intended meaning, because it's comparing evidence with a time (now, that is). It intends to compare stronger evidence with the evidence provided now. That bit of extra wording is required to convey the idea precisely, so we go off looking for it in the answer choices.

Applying the filter: (B) through (D) all solve that problem. (B) and (C) both end with "and link." That phrasing distorts the intended meaning, because it says not that the evidence is doing the linking, but rather that the paleontologists are linking. The correct answer is (D).