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 stand..., , , # The Mammal Dental Metrics Database: A compilation of fossil and extant mammal tooth measurements

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## Description of the data

This is a compilation of published or otherwise available dental measurements of extant and fossil mammals specimens focused on Neogene large mammals from Africa and Arabia. This dataset provides dental abundance and measurement data that can be analyzed to reveal long-term ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Dental metrics (tooth length, width, height) of African and Arabian fossil and extant large mammals were compiled from the literature and by measuring specimens at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Information on the ages of fossil sites was also compiled from the literature.

## File structure

Data consist of the following spreadsheets (in csv format):

* Metrics: specimen-level taxonomic, measurement, location, and reference data.
* Ages: Age and other contextual information for fossil localities.
The localities in Ages and the specimens in ..., , **Changes after May 30, 2023:** New version includes additional data as well as numerous fixes. 'ComLoc' variable now divided into two variables: ComLoc1 and ComLoc2 to allow for uncertainty in locality assignment for some specimens.