We present new estimates of ages and metallicities , based on FORS/VLT optical ( 4400–5500 Å ) spectroscopy , of 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies ( dE ’ s ) in the Fornax Cluster and in Southern Groups .
These dE ’ s are more metal-rich and younger than previous estimates based on narrow-band photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy .
For our sample we find a mean metallicity { [ Z / H ] } = -0.33 dex and mean age 3.5 Gyr , consistent with similar samples of dE ’ s in other environments ( Local Group , Virgo ) .
Three dE ’ s in our sample show emission lines and very young ages .
This suggests that some dE ’ s formed stars until a very recent epoch and were self-enriched by a long star formation history .
Previous observations of large near-infrared ( \sim 8500 Å ) Ca ii absorption strengths in these dE ’ s are in good agreement with the new metallicity estimates , solving part of the so-called Calcium puzzle .