European Middle Pleistocene Hippopotamus Morphometric and Dietary Data

Roberta Martino's dataset from figshare, last updated May 2026, provides morphometric and microwear data on European hippopotamus fossils. The 177.4 KB XLSX file includes data from a review of Pleistocene specimens from Central and Western Europe. It focuses on mandibular and cranial features to assess phenotypic diversity and dietary shifts in Hippopotamus antiquus populations.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in mandibular slenderness index (SI) across early and Middle Pleistocene specimens.
• Investigate cranial variability based on features like orbit elevation, sagittal crest length, and condyle prominence.
• Study sexual dimorphism in hippopotamid species using morphological measurements.
• Examine dietary shifts through dental microwear analysis comparing soft aquatic plants and herbaceous vegetation consumption.

Strengths

• Includes data from a comprehensive review of Pleistocene specimens from Central and Western Europe.
• Contains results from dental microwear analysis, suggesting a dietary shift between early and derived populations.
• Documents significant sexual dimorphism observed between male and female specimens.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Roberta Martino.

Collection Method

Likely compiled from fossil specimen review and analysis.

Time Range

Middle Pleistocene, with references to pre-Jaramillo (ca. 1 Ma) specimens.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-13 10:41:47; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Central and Western Europe, with specific localities in Italy (Ortona, Maglianella).