Please submit your manuscript to journal@conchsoc.org along with the names of three potential reviewers. Short papers in the form of simple Communications are also accepted (see below). The Editor-in-Chief will check your manuscript for suitability and general compliance with the journal’s format. If suitable, your manuscript be sent for review.
General information
Use British English for spelling and the Oxford Style Manual for most points of grammar and style. Formatting of manuscripts should be minimal; that is, do not try to emulate the journal’s layout or style and use italics and bold only where needed (see also References below).
To submit a paper, please include:
- Word document with text, including tables and figure captions.
- Low-resolution JPG images of all figures (ensure that they are collectively under 10MB).
- A PDF of the whole document, including figures, may be sent, but this must be additional to the Word document.
- In your covering email please include the names of three potential reviewers.
Formatting of your Word document should be minimal. Keep formatting simple (bold, italics, superscript, subscript) where necessary; avoid trying to emulate Journal of Conchology style; much of the formatting is automatically applied during typesetting. All text should be left-justified (ragged right); there is no need to centre headings, change font-sizes, or add use small caps (never type in all capital letters).
Running title, Author(s): short title
Title, in sentence case (not all capitals)
Authors, separated by commas and “&”; use superscript numbers for affiliations
Authors’ affiliations and addresses
Corresponding author:
Abstract. Summary of findings.
Key words. Up to seven key words
Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion
These are the main headings that give structure to your manuscript. Additional or entirely different main headings may be acceptable, depending on the manuscript. You might call the main part of your manuscript something other than Results (e.g. Systematics).
Subsections
Include as necessary. In descriptions of new taxa, this would be the new taxonomic entity being described.
In-line subheadings. Used organize text below upper-level headings, such as in descriptions of new taxa. A full stop is used to separate the in-line subheading with the following text in the paragraph.
New taxa, type specimens, and ZooBank
Manuscripts introducing new taxa are welcome.
For descriptions of new species or subspecific taxa, primary type material must be deposited in a public or institutional museum with unique catalogue or accession number.
Descriptions of new taxa and taxonomic revisions must comply with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. As Journal of Conchology is now published only online, newly described taxa must be registered in ZooBank, and the unique identifier provided by ZooBank must be included in final publication. However, the Editor prefers that registration is done after acceptance of the manuscript and will assist by registering publications and taxa with ZooBank (the editor prefers to do the registration).
For descriptions of new species or subspecific taxa, primary type materials should be deposited in a public or institutional museum, and catalogue numbers or accession numbers should be given for type materials included in the manuscript.
Citations to references in the text
Order in-text citations by year, then author. Citations should take one of the following forms:
Smith (2000a, 2000b, 2020)
(Smith 2000a; Jones et al. 2023)
(Jones 2000; Smith & Jones 2001; Jones et al. 2023)
Use letters (“2000a, 2000b”) for references having the same authors and year.
References
References are listed alphabetically by author, then chronologically.
DOI. Include the full URL for DOIs when one is available. The URL for all DOIs begin with https://doi.org/ followed by the prefix (publisher) and suffix (publication). Please ensure that hyperlinks are active and not broken.
Formatting requirements. Do not try to emulate Journal of Conchology formatting; small capitals for authors will be applied automatically during typesetting. Never use all upper case. Format book and serial publications, as well as genera and species, in italics; volume numbers in bold.
Please note the format and punctuation of author’s names. A full stop follows the last author and the year of publication.
Journal article:
Bouchet P, Rocroi J-P, Hausdorf B, Kaim A, Kano Y, Nützel A, Parkhaev P, Schrödl M, Strong EE. 2017. Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia 61 (1–2): 1–526. https://doi.org/10.4002/040.061.0201
Book, part of a book:
Bernard FR, Cai YY, Morton B. 1993. Catalogue of the Living Marine Bivalve Molluscs of China Hong Kong. University Press, Hong Kong, 146 pp.
Oliver PG. 1995. Bivalvia. In: Dance SP (ed.) Seashells of Eastern Arabia. Motivate, Dubai, 194–281.
Website:
MolluscaBase Eds. 2023. MolluscaBase. Aforia Dall, 1889. https://molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=196995. Accessed on 2024-01-31.
Tables
Tables are numbered sequentially in the manuscript. Smaller tables should be at the end of the Word with the legend above the table and any footnotes below. Very large tables (that can slow down Word) should be submitted in Excel. Use default formatting: do not try to emulate the journal’s format; this will be done automatically during typesetting.
Figures
Figure captions should be included at the end of the Word document when you submit. All figures should be referred to in the text, and they should be numbered in the order that they first are cited. Please ensure that all figures are referred to within the text as Figure 1 and (Fig. 1) or Figures 1–3 and (Figs 1–3); spell out “figures” in the main text when not in parentheses and in figure legends.
Figures should initially be submitted as low-resolution JPG or TIF files embedded in the manuscript’s Word file (at the end) or within a low-resolution PDF. On acceptance for publication, high-resolution TIF or JPG files (300 dpi at 180 mm wide for 2 columns, or 86 mm wide for 1 column) should be sent. Some kinds of figures (e.g., graphs, maps, phylogenetic trees) are better sent in a vector format (save as AI, EPS, CDR, or PDF). Charts and graphs made in Excel can be saved as PDF files or sent in the native Excel file format for conversion.
Text in artwork should be a sans-serif font (e.g. Arial or Helvetica) and be an appropriate size for legibility, especially when figures are reduced in width to fit 1 or 2 columns. Conversely, overly large text can appear ungainly. Suitable font sizes at 100% in the final page layout are typically 8–12 point.
After acceptance of your manuscript
Following acceptance of your manuscript, it will be copy edited by the Editor for grammar, spelling, comprehension and for preparing the text for typesetting. The copy-edited manuscript will be sent to you for approval and any additional required corrections.
The approved copy-edited manuscript will be typeset by the editor, and a proof will be sent for you to check and approve. For co-authored manuscripts, the corresponding author will be responsible for seeking the input/approval of his or her co authors. Proofing allows for minor corrections of errors, and more substantial revisions are normally not permitted. Changes to publications, once published, are not possible and corrections, if substantive, will require a separately published erratum.
Short communications
Short communications are short manuscripts which enhance knowledge of the distribution and habitats, especially of the British malacofauna. They are intended to be short, informative notes of an original nature which do not merit the treatment of a full paper, and contributions from students and members are especially welcome. Section headings and subheadings are generally unnecessary (except References). As a departure from the past, References should be formatted as for regular manuscripts (see above).
A PDF of the instructions to authors can be downloaded by clicking HERE.