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.
The 16-metre long Megalodon shark, which died out 1.5million years ago, was once the true king of the ocean, weighing an awesome 100 tons. 1  Big bite: It took famed fossil hunter Vito Bertucci almost 20 years to reconstruct this Megalodon shark's jaw, which measures 11ft across and is almost 9ft tall.