Journal of Herpetology

General Information

The Journal of Herpetology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles four times a year. We publish work from around the world. Although all submissions must be in American English, we welcome an additional, second-language abstract. The Journal of Herpetology normally publishes manuscripts ≤ 6000 words, including title, abstract, and the body of manuscript). Word count does NOT include the literature cited section, appendices, tables, figures, and legends. Word limit extensions beyond 6000 words are sometimes granted but only in consultation with the editor.

Suitable Topics

The Journal of Herpetology accepts manuscripts on all aspects on the biology of amphibians and reptiles including their behavior, conservation, ecology, morphology, physiology, and systematics, as well as herpetological education. We encourage authors to submit manuscripts that are data-driven and rigorous tests of hypotheses, or provide thorough descriptions of novel taxa (living or fossil). Topics may address theoretical issues in a thoughtful, quantitative way.

Reviews and policy papers that provide new insight on the herpetological sciences are also welcome, but they must be more than simple literature reviews. Such review and policy papers must have a central focus that propose a new argument for understanding a concept or a new approach for answering a question or solving a problem. Focus sections that combine papers on related topics are normally determined by the
Editors. Publication in the Long-Term Perspectives section is by invitation only.

Papers on captive breeding, anecdotal or isolated natural history observations, geographic range extensions, and essays should be submitted to our sister journal, Herpetological Review. Papers that describe new techniques or sampling methods could be suitable topics for the Journal of Herpetology but should have rigorous quantitative components and be clearly related to a theoretical discipline within the realm of herpetology. If you are not sure as to the suitability of a topic for submission to the journal, contact the editors before submitting your work.

For details on the preparation of manuscripts and the submission process, please use the link for Instructions to Authors below:
Link to Instructions for Authors