MALACOLOGIA publishes original research on the Mollusca that is of high quality and of broad international interest. Papers combining synthesis with innovation are particularly desired. While publishing symposia from time to time, MALACOLOGIA encourages submission of single manuscripts on diverse topics. Smaller papers of local geographical or systematic content, and of high quality and broad interest, may be accepted as “Research Notes”. Nearly all branches of malacology are represented in the pages of MALACOLOGIA.

Manuscripts submitted for publication are received with the tacit understanding that they have not been submitted or published elsewhere in whole or in part. However, previous short meeting abstracts are acceptable.

Manuscripts must be in English. Both American and British spellings are allowed.

Unless indicated otherwise below, contributors should follow the recommendations in the Council of Science Editors (CSE) Scientific Style and Format Manual, 8th ed., 2014 (ISBN 9780226116495).

Text and Formatting

Keep writing crisp and avoid unnecessary text.

Manuscripts must be prepared using: Microsoft Word® (Windows-version), Arial, 12-point font size, lines at 1.5 spaces throughout (including references, tables and figure captions), no added spaces before or after paragraphs, text aligned left and not justified right. Tables, figure captions and figures are to be placed on separate pages at the end of the file. Make the hierarchy of headings within the text simple and consistent. Avoid internal page references.

Choose a running title (a shortened version of the main title) of fewer than 50 letters and spaces.

Provide a concise and informative abstract summarizing all major aspects of the paper.

Supply between five and eight key (topic) words to go at the end of the Abstract.

Use the metric system throughout. Micron should be abbreviated μm. Coordinates should be provided as degree, minutes, seconds (e.g., 45°2′30″N, 120°10′30″W) or decimal degree (e.g., 45.0417°N, 120.1750°W).

Illustrations, Figures and Tables

Three types of illustrations are accepted: (A) line art figures (black-and-white drawings, diagrams), (B) gray-step figures (“black-and-white” photographs or graystep drawings) and (C) color figures. Graystep and color figs. should be saved with a resolution of 300 dpi; line art with 1,200 dpi.  There is an additional charge for color printing (see below).

Illustrations are printed either in one column or the full width of a page of the journal, so plan accordingly. The maximum size of a printed figure is 13.5 x 20.0 cm (preferably not as tall as this so that the caption does not have to be on the opposite page). The figure captions are not to be part of the figure.

Lines, letters, and numbers should be thick enough to allow reduction by 30% to 50%. Letters and numbers (Arial font) should be at least 2 mm (line art) or 3 mm (graystep, color) high after reduction, but avoid letter sizes > 6 mm. In line drawings, the minimum line width of 0.2 mm is required. Several drawings or photographs may be grouped together as plate.

All illustrations should be numbered sequentially and not as lettered sub-series. All figures must be cited in the text in the order in which they appear.

Scale lines are required for all non-diagrammatic figures, and should be convenient lengths (e.g., “200 μm”, not “163 μm”). Magnifications in captions are not acceptable. However, object or specimen sizes in a caption are acceptable.

Be professional. Sloppy illustrations, labels, borders will not be accepted. If assistance is required of MALACOLOGIA’s editorial staff, the author will be charged for the services rendered.

A caption should summarize what is shown in an illustration, and should not duplicate information given in the text. Each lettered abbreviation labeling an individual feature in a figure must either be explained in each caption (listed alphabetically), or be grouped in one alphabetic sequence after the Methods section. Use the latter method if many abbreviations are repeated.

Tables are to be used sparingly. All tables must be cited in the text in the order in which they appear. Tables should be composed using the table function of Word (and not tab- or space-delimited text).

References

References cited in the text must appear in the Literature Cited section and vice versa. Refer to a recent issue of MALACOLOGIA for bibliographic style, noting especially that serials are cited unabbreviated. Supply information on plates, etc., only if they are not included in the pagination. Supply full book information for cited chapters. As of now, the main authors will be in upper and lower case, not all-caps as in the past.

In systematic papers, synonymies should not give complete citations but should relate by author, date and page to the Literature Cited section. All new type specimens must be deposited in a museum where other scientists may study them. Likewise, MALACOLOGIA requires that voucher specimens upon which a paper is based be deposited in a museum where their identity can be verified.

For all papers dealing with molluscan species, each such species should include its author and date upon first appearance, with the correct use of parenthesis around an author in the case of a generic assignment other than the original combination. In all taxonomic papers dealing with one to a few species, the original description of each should be represented in the Literature Cited. In other studies – physiological, ecological, etc. – involving one or a few species, the author should either cite the original description of the taxon/taxa involved or some other work showing its identity. However, if a paper has substantial lists of species, their original descriptions need not be cited.