Obviousness is a critical element to patentability. In essence, even if the applicant can demonstrate patentable subject matter, utility and novelty, the patent will not issue if the invention is trivial.
While the earliest C. megalodon remains were reported from late Oligocene strata, around 28 million years old, a more reliable date for the origin of the species is the early Miocene, about 23 million years ago.
New research about Megalodon and its demise. Around 400 years ago, megalodon teeth were thought to be petrified tongues. In 1667, the Danish anatomist Nicolas Steno figured out from his dissection of a great white shark head that they were the teeth of ancient large sharks.