[B2013] 4 , the SIMBAD biblio

The oxygen abundance of the outer disk of the nearby S0 galaxy NGC 404, a prototypical early-type galaxy with extended star formation, has been derived from the analysis of H II region spectra. The high mean value found, 12 + log(O/H) = 8.6±0.1, equivalent to approximately 80% of the solar value, argues against both the previously proposed cold accretion and recent merger scenarios as viable mechanisms for the assembly of the star-forming gas. The combination of the present-day gas metallicity with the published star formation history of this galaxy favors a model in which the recent star forming activity represents the declining tail of the original one.