Vertebrata PalAsiatica is an academic journal dedicated to the study of paleontology and related issues, including the biostratigraphy regarding vertebrate fossils, taphonomy, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and paleoenvironments. The articles published include specialized papers, reports, newsletters, critiques on books and articles, reviews, as well as introductions to research methods and experiences from both domestic and international sources. The aimed readership consists of researchers, professors, and students in the fields of paleontology, geology, biology, archaeology, and museology, both in China and abroad. The journal is published quarterly, in January, April, July, and October. To improve the editorial quality of this journal, the following submission guidelines are provided.
1. Manuscripts should present clear arguments and be concise. Each paper must include the following items: title, author names, affiliations, and postal codes; a Chinese abstract of approximately 200 characters along with keywords; funding information (including project numbers) indicated in the footer of the first page; an English title, abstract, and keywords, as well as references at the end of the paper. For manuscripts submitted in English, a Chinese title, keywords, and both Chinese and English abstracts must be provided. In general, manuscripts (including foreign-language abstracts and references) should not exceed 12,000 characters, though exceptions may be made for significant articles. Brief reports should be around 2,000 characters.
2. Manuscripts must be provided in electronic format. Foreign letters, symbols, and characters must be clearly distinguished in terms of uppercase and lowercase, regular and italic typefaces, as well as bold and normal fonts. Superscript and subscript letters, numbers, and symbols should be clearly differentiated in position and size. Footnotes should be placed at the bottom margin of the same page. Figures created using computer software should be drawn with CorelDRAW (CDR format), Photoshop (PSD format), or Illustrator (EPS format), or provided as TIF or JPG files with a resolution of no less than 600 dpi. Each figure should be saved as a separate file.
3. All section headings in the main text should be left-aligned without indentation. The hierarchical numbering format should be: 1; 1.1; 1.1.1, etc., with a space left after the number before the heading text. The introduction and conclusion should also be numbered sequentially.
4. Terminology, measurement units, and translations of personal and place names in the text should comply with relevant national standards.
5. Figures and tables should be placed at the end of the paragraph where they are first mentioned, with space reserved for their insertion. Annotations for figures should be placed below the figures, while table titles should be placed above the tables. For Chinese articles, figure and table titles, as well as content, should be presented in both Chinese and English. Photographs and line drawings should be numbered sequentially, with clear images and well-defined details. Scale bars should be included in illustrations. Figures and tables should not be excessively large and must be arranged neatly and compactly, ensuring an aesthetically pleasing layout. The total size, including annotations, should not exceed the content area (14 cm × 21 cm), and after scaling, text within figures should be no smaller than 9-point font. Any maps involving national borders or covering more than two provinces or municipalities must be based on the latest geographic base maps provided by the National Standard Map Service (http://bzdt.ch.mnr.gov.cn/) and must include an approval number.
6. References should follow the "author-year" citation system, with in-text citations consisting of the author's name and the year of publication. The reference list should be placed after the English abstract and centered under the heading "References." Chinese and foreign references should be arranged together in alphabetical order by the authors' last names. Each reference entry must be complete, and repeated entries should not use "ibid.," "same as above," or dashes.
For works with up to three authors, all names should be listed. If there are more than three authors, only the first three should be listed, followed by "et al." Names should be written in the format of surname first, followed by initials of given names, without periods. Authors' names should be separated by commas. For Chinese references, author names should be in pinyin. Titles of Chinese and non-Latin-script references (e.g., Russian) should be presented in English. If an English title is provided, it should be used directly; otherwise, the Chinese title should be translated into English accurately.
Journal title abbreviations should follow the "Serials" abbreviation standard used in Bibliography of Vertebrate Fossils but without abbreviation periods. Chinese journal titles should use their official English abbreviations, while book and collected volume titles should be given in their full English form without adding the Chinese title. Place of publication and publisher names should not be abbreviated. In book and collected volume titles, all initial letters in notional words should be capitalized, whereas article titles in journals and edited volumes should be in lowercase except for the initial letter of the first word, place names, and proper nouns.
All cited references must correspond to those mentioned in the text, and any references not cited in the text should not be included in the reference list.
The formatting for different types of references (collections, monographs, and journal articles) is as follows:
Duan S Y, 1989. Characteristics of the Zhaitang Flora and its geological age. In: Cui G Z, Shi B H eds. Exploration of the Chinese Geological Sciences. Beijing: Peking University Press. 84-93
Li W Y, Yao Z J, 1993. Late Quaternary Vegetation and Environment of North and Middle Subtropical Region of China. Beijing: China Ocean Press. 1-152
Sun X J, Du N Q, Weng C Y et al., 1994. Paleovegetation and paleoenvironment of Manasi Lake, Xingjiang, N W China during the last 14,000 years. Quat Sci, 3: 239-248
For specific formatting requirements of references, please refer to the Download Center.
7. Manuscripts must not be submitted to multiple journals simultaneously. Articles that have already been published in a foreign language, either domestically or internationally, will not be accepted.
8. When submitting a manuscript, authors must provide their contact information, including the full name of their institution, postal code, phone number, and email address.
9. If a submission does not meet the above requirements, the editorial office will return it to authors for revision. The date of receipt will be based on the date when the revised manuscript meeting the requirements is received. Authors are responsible for the content of their submissions. The editorial office reserves the right to make technical or linguistic modifications, while substantive content changes will be made with the author's consent. Authors should keep a copy of their manuscript, as unaccepted manuscripts are generally not returned unless a return is specifically requested at the time of submission.
10. To accommodate the needs of digitalization and online accessibility, this journal has been indexed by multiple domestic and international retrieval systems and is included in databases such as CNKI, Wanfang, and Chongqing Weipu. The copyright of articles published in this journal belongs to the author(s). The author's copyright usage fee is paid in full in the form of remuneration upon publication. If authors do not agree to have their articles included in databases or indexed, they should state this at the time of submission, and the journal will handle the matter accordingly.
11. Once a manuscript is published, authors are required to pay a publication fee as per the regulations. The editorial office will provide an appropriate remuneration and a complimentary offprint (for academic papers only) along with a sample issue.
12. For online submissions, please visit http://www.vertpala.ac.cn/Journalx_gjz/authorLogOn.action and notify the editorial office via email.
13. To enhance data sharing and increase the impact of published papers, the journal encourages authors to submit associated research data. After acceptance, authors can deposit and pre-publish their data on ScienceDB (https://www.scidb.cn/). For specific policies regarding data submission, please refer to the Download Center. Detailed submission procedures can be found at: https://www.scidb.cn/publishing_process.
14. This journal has partnered with ChinaXiv and CNKI for online first publication. Once a manuscript is accepted, unless the author explicitly states otherwise regarding electronic publication, it will be regarded as granting permission for online first release on ChinaXiv and CNKI.
Correspondence Address: Editorial Office of Vertebrata
PalAsiatica (Chinese and English), P.O. Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Phone: (010) 88369180
Email: vertpala@ivpp.ac.cn
