The Mammal Dental Metrics Database: a compilation of fossil and extant mammal tooth measurements

Fossil relative abundance data in combination with specimen-level
measurements can reveal community-level changes underpinning long-term
ecological and evolutionary dynamics. However relative abundance data is
not consistently reported in the paleontological literature, and
measurement data is presented in individual studies in varying formats.
Here, we compiled dental measurements (tooth crown length, width, and
height) from the paleontological literature (or otherwise available
sources) in a single database, simultaneously permitting analyses of size
and relative abundance for the fossil record. This first version of the
database focuses on large mammals and on the African and Arabian Neogene
fossil record. Measurements of teeth of extant species were also
collected. Each row gives the available measurements for a single tooth.
Specimens with multiple teeth reported are divided among several rows.
Taxonomic information was entered largely as given in the original source,
without standardization or revision of taxonomic identifications.
Geographic, stratigraphic, and assemblage information was also collected
for fossil specimens, and specimens were assigned to individual
'computational localities' (normally combinations of geological
unit and location) that can be treated as paleo-communities
(metacommunities). Numeric ages and geographic and geological information
for these localities are given in a corresponding spreadsheet. Sources are
given for all measurement and age data. This dataset provides a powerful
new resource for investigations of changes in relative abundance, body
mass, or mass-abundance distributions in the fossil record.