Proposal by Lewis that the juxtaposed
mandibular portions of Ramapithecus with a maxilla of Bramapithecus suggested that this Miocene
hominoid was in fact the first
hominid. This idea found support among authorities such as W. K. Gregory and, later, E. L. Simons. Subsequent
fossil evidence has not supported the original
interpretation of the
tooth row as parabolic in shape, and Ramapithecus has been sunk into the
hominoid taxon Sivapithecus.