Information For Authors

PLEASE NOTE: Submissions are not made on this site, but exclusively by an e-mail to the editor-in-chief (Jaime Bertoluci): phyllomedusa@usp.br
 
Journal Citation Report Impact Factor (2024): 0,6

 

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

General Information. Phyllomedusa publishes articles dealing with the entire field of herpetology. The journal also maintains sections for Short Communications and Book Reviews. Manuscripts are considered on the conditions that they: (1) have not been published elsewhere; (2) are not under consideration for publication, in whole or in part, in another journal or book; and (3) are submitted by the authors in the format and style of Phyllomedusa and in accordance with the specifications included in the Instructions to Authors. Manuscripts should be submitted as a single Microsoft Word document via e-mail. High-quality color images are accepted. Manuscripts must be written in English with appropriate abstracts in alternate languages. If English is not your primary language, arrange to have your manuscript reviewed for English usage before you submit it. Direct any questions about manuscript submission to the primary editor. Publication in Phyllomedusa, including color images, is free of charge.

Scope. Manuscripts must contain significant new findings of fundamental and general herpetological interest. Surveys and taxonomic descriptions are published only if there is sufficient new biological information or taxonomic revision to render the paper of general herpetological interest. Lower priority is accorded confirmatory studies, investigations primarily of localized interest, range extensions, technique papers with narrow application, descriptions of phenomena based on insufficient data, and descriptive work that is not placed in a significant context. Manuscripts should include a clear statement of the purpose of the study or the hypothesis that was tested.

Peer Review. At least two referees, an Associate Editor, and the Editor will review each manuscript that is deemed to fall within the scope of Phyllomedusa. Authors will be notified of the status of their manuscript within 90 days. Revised manuscripts accepted for publication will be edited for English usage and syntax prior to final acceptance for publication.

Manuscript Style and Format. Use the active voice when possible; thus, you should write “I/we studied the frog,” rather than “The frog was studied by me/us” (passive voice). Use American spelling and punctuation. Double space the entire manuscript, including references, tables, table captions, and legends for illustrations. Use Times New Roman 12-point font, and set up document with margins of at least 2.54 cm (1 in.) on each side. Do not justify the text; it should be left aligned and ragged right. Number manuscript pages consecutively and lines continuously, following the arrangement and format outlined below exactly.

  • Title: Bold-faced caps and lower-case Roman; sentence capped, left aligned; use colons to separate ranked taxonomic names.
  • Name(s) of author(s): Bold-faced caps and lower-case Roman; left aligned; use serial commas. Follow example:

José Wellington Alves dos Santos,1,2 Roberta Pacheco Damasceno,1,2 and Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha2,3

  • Institutional affiliation(s): Light-faced caps and lower-case Roman; left aligned. Follow example:

1University of Kansas, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. 
Lawrence. Kansas 66045-7580, USA. E-mail: trueb@ku.edu. 


2Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas. 13.418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. 
E-mail: jaime.bertoluci@usp.br. 


3Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Ciencias Genómicas. 
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. E-mail: delibasanta@gmail.com. 


  • Abstract: Should not exceed 350 words (including lead title) and one paragraph and only is included in regular articles. Alternate-language abstracts may be included, but these must match the content of the English abstract. See example:

Abstract


Title of paper in bold-faced Roman. Content of abstract follows in light-faced Roman; left alignment.

Keywords: Light-faced Roman; separate words with commas; capitalize only proper nouns; include descriptors not contained in the title in alphabetical order.

Body of Article: The text of the article will include the following parts indicated by primary headings in bold-faced Roman aligned to the left (except for References, which should be centered).

Introduction


Materials and Methods

Results


Discussion

Acknowledgments

References

Secondary headings within major sections are title-capped, italics aligned left.

Tertiary headings follow a paragraph indentation; they are sentence capped, and set in italics. Tertiary headers are followed by a point and an em-dash. Follow example:

Material and Methods [Primary header]


Study Site [Secondary header]


Selection of site.—This is a Tertiary, or third-level, heading. It should be indented and lacks a hard return. The heading is followed by a point or period and a long dash (em-dash).


  • Body of Short Communication or Book Review: These shorter articles do not include the primary headings Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. “Acknowledgments” is treated as a third-level, or tertiary header.
  • Tables: Number tables consecutively with Arabic numbers. Refer to tables in text as Table 1, Tables 2 and 3, and Tables 2–5. Exceedingly long tables should be placed in appendices. Table captions should be placed above the table. Horizontal rules may be used in the table header and at the foot of the table. No rules (horizontal or vertical) should appear in the body of a table. Consult Vol. 20 (2) of Phyllomedusa for proper format of table captions and contents.

  • Appendices: Number appendices consecutively with Roman numerals. Refer to tables in text as Appendix I, Appendices II and III, and Appendices II–V. Appendix captions should be placed above the appendix content. Most appendices should follow the format instructions for tables. Extensive lists of specimens examined should be included as an appendix. Consult Vol. 18 (2) of Phyllomedusa for proper format and arrangement of specimens examined.

  • Figure captions or legends: All figures must be numbered consecutively and their legends or captions formatted in Phyllomedusa style (Vol. 18, No. 2). The captions should be listed in order separate from the images. Refer to figures in text as Figure 1, Figures 2 and 3, Figures 2–5, Figure 4A, and Figure 4A, B. “Figure” or “Figures” are always spelled out—even in parentheses. Figures must be cited in order in the text. See specific instructions for preparation of figures.

  • Figures for review: Embed all figures in order at the end of the Word document as PNG (Portable Network Graphic) files. Identify each with the figure number and a short caption, and indicate whether the figure is intended for reproduction at column or page width, or as a broadside.
  • Preparation of Figures for Publication. All figures should be submitted digitally as TIF files with LZW compression, separately from the files embedded in the manuscript for review. Each figure should be submitted at the exact size intended for publication. There are three choices: page width (34 picas, 145 mm, 5 and 11/16 in.), column width (16.5 picas, 70 mm, 2 and 3/4 in.), or broadside (193 mm × 145 mm). All illustrations must allow room for a caption to be printed below the figure, while conforming to these measurements.
  • Labeling figures: Labels must be consistent on a figure and among all figures included in the article. Use a sans serif font that is common to Windows and Macintosh platforms (e.g., Optima, Arial). Subunits of multipart figures must be labeled with capital letters (A, B, C) placed in the upper, left-hand area of each unit. The letters should be about 10 points large (not to exceed 12 pt); they must be identical in size and typeface on each figure included in the manuscript.

Labeling within figures (e.g., anatomical parts, legends on axes of graphs, etc.) should be in the range of 8–9 pt and in a sans serif font, such as Arial. Scale bars should be labeled with their values on the face of the figure (e.g., 5 mm); the minimal size of lettering that may be used is 7 points in a sans serif font for scale bars, longitude and latitude on maps, etc.

  • Vector graphics: Maps, graphs, and line drawings should be prepared with an illustration program such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or Deneba Canvas. Graphs and maps generated in other programs (e.g., Sigma Plot, Excel) can be imported into these illustration programs and manipulated (or used as a template to produce a new drawing) to produce an acceptable figure at the size intended for publication. Similarly, drawings executed by hand, should be scanned (300– 600 dpi) and imported into an illustration program in which they can be sized and labeled for publication. Follow the instructions for labeling provided above, along with the following guidelines for illustrations at column and page widths.

- Sized for publication, lines (strokes) should be between 0.25 and 2 points 
wide.

- Tick marks on graphs should be on the outside of the axis line. Sized for 
publication, they are between 3 and 5 points in length and 0.25 pt in weight. 
Longitude and latitude marks should be on the inside of the map border.

- All maps must have an appropriate scale in kilometers.

- Overlapping symbols and lines must be counter shadowed with white. 


- Export completed image as a TIFF document for submission. 


  • Raster graphics: Photographs (color and gray-scale [black & white]) and tone (gray-scale) renderings should be submitted as a RGB document in TIFF format sized for publication (described above) at a resolution between 300 and 600 dpi (after reduction/sizing). To label raster images, import them into a vector graphic program, follow the directions above, and export the completed image as a TIFF document for submission. 


Editorial conventions.

  • All generic and specific names must appear in italics. At the first 
mention of a species in any paragraph, provide its complete binomial name; in subsequent references to the same species, the generic name may be abbreviated. The first citation of a species must include the authority and date, but the authority does not have to be cited in the References. Hierarchical taxa are separated with colons (e.g., Anura: Leptodactylidae). New taxonomic names should not appear in the Abstract or Keywords. 

  • There are three kinds of dashes. Short dashes (-) are used as hyphens. En-dashes (–) are used to denote ranges (e.g., 5–10, May–September) and the minus sign in mathematics. Em-dashes (—) are used in Tertiary Headings, and frequently as a substitute for parentheses and colons. There should be no space on either side of any of these dashes. 

  • Numbers and units. All measurements are noted in Arabic, unless the number starts a sentence.
  • - Measurements include distances, areas, dimensions, volumes, weights, time 
(e.g., hours, days, seconds, minutes), temperatures etc. Standard SI units are used—e.g., time: 08:16 h; distances and areas: 7 km, 12.5 mm, 17,840 ha; geographic coordinates: 04°43'23'' S; temperature: 24°C; to indicate degrees, use a degree sign (°), not a superscript oh (o). Note that degrees and minutes are straight quotation marks or prime signs; do not use curly quotes. 

  • - Use the double-digit rule for numbers other than measurements. Numbers less than 10 are spelled out—e.g., “... nine animals were sampled”; numbers of 10 and more are denoted in Arabic—e.g., “... but 10 larvae were collected.” 

  • Authorities are cited in text as follows. Single: (Caballero 1944); double: (Bursey and Goldberg 2006); three or more (Goldberg et al. 2002). Note use of “and” and italics for “et al.” Multiple text citations should be listed in chronological order and separated by commas—thus: (Crump 1974, Duellman 1978a–c, 1980, Duellman and Trueb 1986). Two or more publications by the same author should be cited in the following pattern: (Vanzolini 1991, 1992) or Cadle (1984a, b, 1985).
  • References. All publications cited in the text (except taxonomic authorities) must be included in the References in alphabetical order. “Gray literature” (e.g., technical reports, theses, dissertations that have limited distribution or are difficult to identify and acquire) should be avoided. Follow the formats shown below.

- Normal journal articles:
 Vanzolini, P. E. 1993. A new species of turtle, genus Trachemys, from the state of Maranhão, Brazil (Testudines: Emydidae). Revista Brasileira de Biologia 55: 111–125.

- Two authors in a journal series:
 Zamudio, K. R. and H. W. Greene. 1997. Phylogeography of the bushmaster (Lachesis muta: Viperidae): implications for Neotropical biogeography, systematics, and conservation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 62: 421–442.

- More than two authors in a journal series:
Hero, J.-M., W. E. Magnusson, C. F. D. Rocha, and C. P. Catterall. 2001. Antipredator defenses influence the distribution of amphibian prey species in the central Amazon rain forest. Biotropica 33: 131–141.

- Chapter in an edited volume:
 Hedges, S. B. 1999. Distribution patterns of amphibians in the West Indies. Pp. 211–254 in W. E. Duellman (ed.), Patterns of Distribution of Amphibians. A Global Perpective. Baltimore and London. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

- Unpublished thesis or dissertation:
 Verdade, V. K. 2001. Revisão das espécies de Colostethus Cope, 1866 da Mata Atlântica (Anura: Dendrobatidae). Unpubl. M.Sc. Dissertation. Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.

- Book: 
McDiarmid R. W. and R. Altig (eds.). 1999. Tadpoles. The Biology of Anuran Larvae. Chicago and London. The University of Chicago Press. 633 pp.

- Material from the World Wide Web: Frost, D. R. (ed.). 2010. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.4 (8 April 2010). Electronic Database accessible at http: // research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Captured on 12 August 2024.

- Software: 
Maddison, W. P. and D. R. Madison. 2010. Mesquite. A Modular System for Evolutionary Analysis. Version 2.73. URL: http://mesquiteproject.org.

  • Animal care and permits. The editorial staff of Phyllomedusa subscribes to humane and ethical treatment of all animals; all contributors to the journal must comply with this principle. In addition, all required state and federal permits must have been obtained and must be cited in the Acknowledgments.
  • Proofs. The publisher will undertake proofreading, unless specifically advised otherwise by the corresponding author when the contribution is accepted for publication.
  • Reprints. Authors will receive a PDF of their contribution and are invited to distribute it freely.
  • Submission. Send your manuscript as a single Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx) containing the main text followed by Appendices, Tables and Figures with their respective captions via e-mail to the Editor: phyllomedusa@usp.br.

Jaime Bertoluci

Editor-in-Chief

 

Plagiarism

PHYLLOMEDUSA employs iThenticate, a service provided by CrossRef, to detect text similarity within previously published scientific documents. For additional details, please visit: https://app.ethenticate.com. Generative Artificial Intelligences In accordance with COPE guidelines, PHYLLOMEDUSA does not allow generative Artificial Intelligences to be included as authors of submissions, as they do not meet the authorship requirements in scientific productions, as they cannot assume responsibility for the content of the text. Additionally, the journal does not allow excerpts of submitted texts to have been generated by generative Artificial Intelligences, as authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscripts. Access the COPE guidelines here: https://publicationethics.org/cope-position-statements/ai-author.

Ethical principles

Decisions made by the Editors and Editorial Board will not be influenced by revenue sources.