  In this paper we present measurements of velocity dispersions and Lick
indices for 509 galaxies in the local Universe, based on high signal-to-noise,
long slit spectra obtained with the 1.52 m ESO telescope at La Silla. The
conversion of our measurements into the Lick/IDS system was carried out
following the general prescription of Worthey and Ottaviani 1997. Comparisons
of our measurements with those of other authors show, in general, good
agreement. We also examine the dependence between these indices (e.g., Hbeta,
Mg_2, Fe5270 and NaD) and the central velocity dispersion (sigma), and we find
that they are consistent with those previously reported in the literature.
Benefiting from the relatively large size of the sample, we are able to
investigate the dependence of these relations on morphology and environment,
here represented by the local galaxy density. We find that for metallic lines
these relations show no significant dependence on environment or morphology,
except in the case of NaD, which shows distinct behavior for E and S0. On the
other hand, the Hbeta-logsigma shows a significant difference as a function of
the local density of galaxies, which we interpret as being caused by the
truncation of star formation in high density environments. Comparing our
results with those obtained by other authors we find a few discrepancies,
adding to the ongoing debate about the nature of these relations. Finally, we
report that the scatter of the Mg indices versus sigma relations correlate with
Hbeta, suggesting that age may contribute to the scatter. Furthermore, this
scatter shows no significant dependence on morphology or environment. Our
results are consistent with the current downsizing model, where low mass
galaxies have an extended star formation history (abridged).
