Recall your experiences with the fossil record in the predicting patterns exercise. which of the following statements best describes the relationship between traits shared among species and the order in which the traits appear in the fossil record? (hint: traits appearing earlier in the fossil record are older, more ancestral traits, and those appearing later in the fossil record are newer, more recent traits.) a. traits that are more widespread across distantly related species appear earlier in the fossil record b. traits that are more widespread across distantly related species appear later in the fossil record c. trait loss (e. trait disappearance) occurs earlier in the fossil record d. traits that are required for survival appear later in the fossil record