The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology

Instructions to Authors

1. Publishing in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (RBZ)

1. Submission of manuscripts for consideration for publication

The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (RBZ) is an online peer-reviewed, which publishes high quality papers in Taxonomy, Ecology and Conservation Biology of animals from Southeast Asia. The journal aims to build up quality information on the “animal diversity” of Southeast Asia. The journal, on the advice of the Editorial Board, will publish papers from outside the stated geographic range that deal with material deposited in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC) of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR), National University of Singapore. Both descriptive and experimental papers will be considered. Similarly, both single species (except for insect taxa) and ecosystem studies will be considered for publication. Single species descriptions for insect taxa or new records of organisms are not accepted except under strong recommendations from the Editors. Manuscripts that are checklists or based on new records will no longer be accepted unless they are of significant scientific value. Papers outside the stated policy will only be accepted at the discretion of the Editors/Editorial Board.

The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology will consist of a single volume (two issues) each year, continuing the sequence of its two predecessors, Bulletin of the Raffles Museum (1928-1960) and Bulletin of the National Museum of Singapore (1961-1970). A separately numbered supplement series will be published as and when manuscripts and funding permit. At least fourteen hard-copies of the bulletin will be deposited in fourteen major publicly accessible libraries as to satisfy Article 8.6 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999; Fourth Edition) so that all new names published in the RBZ are considered to be published and available. All articles published by the RBZ may be download from http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz for research purposes.

Authors are to adhere to the guidelines in these Instructions to Authors. Papers submitted to this journal must not be submitted elsewhere unless they have been withdrawn or rejected. It would be preferable, where possible, that representative material from papers published in this journal could be deposited in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC) of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore.

All new manuscripts submissions should be submitted via email to the Managing Editor Dr. Tan Heok Hui at dbsthh@nus.edu.sg.

 

2. Provisional acceptance of manuscript

All manuscripts will be sent to an Associate Editor who will have them reviewed by a minimum of two referees. The Associate Editor decides on provisional acceptance or rejection based on comments submitted by the referees. The author will receive notification of the decision with his returned manuscript, the referees' comments, and a copy of the Instructions to Authors on the format of the revised manuscript.

 

2. Presentation of the manuscript

1. Manuscript preparation

Manuscripts submitted must be in English. Authors whose native language is not English should have their work reviewed by a person well-versed in the English language before submitting the manuscript. It is not the Editors' or Referees' responsibility to provide language assistance, and manuscripts could be rejected if poorly written. All commonly used word processing programs are acceptable, but we prefer document produced with Microsoft® Word (.doc). Alternatively, manuscripts could be submitted in a Rich Text Format (.rtf). For submission of other formats produced with other word processing documents, please email the Managing Editor and check if the format can be read by the Editors before sending the manuscript.

The page size should be A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) in portrait orientation with margins of 25 mm on all four sides. The preferred font is Times New Roman and preferred font size is 12. Text must be double-spaced throughout including tables and legends. All manuscripts should have line numbers to facilitate the refereeing process. All paragraphs should be left aligned and not justified. Do not indent paragraphs. Page numbers should be centred below the text. Metric measurements should be used throughout the manuscript. Time should be represented via 24 hour designation (e.g. 2300 hours instead of 11PM). Do not substitute upper case alphabet "I" or lower case alphabet "L" for the Arabic numeral "1". All numbers less than 10 should be spelt in full, except in the Material and Methods section of taxonomic papers. All scientific names must be used in accordance with the 4th Edition of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (1999), which came into effect on 1 Jan.2000. All species and genus names are to be underlined or italicised. All other words are NOT to be italicised, (e.g. sensu stricto, fide, et al.). Names of vessels should be capitalised. The appropriate regional authority for names of geographical locations should be followed with equivalent names in square brackets (e.g. Ampang [=District], Pulau [=Island], Teluk [=Bay]).

The manuscript should be arranged into sections such as - Introduction, Material and Methods, Taxonomy or Systematics, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments and Literature Cited. All headings should be centred, and in upper case and in bold. Sub-headings should begin paragraphs and appear italicised and bold, followed by a hyphen.

2. Title, Authors and Abstract

The title should be clear and concise. It should be typed in upper case, centred, and in bold. The higher classification of any taxa in the title should be placed in parentheses, separated by colons, in descending order: e.g. The pontoniine shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae) from the Anambas and Natuna Islands. Two lines should precede the authors’ names (in bold) and followed by the authors' professional affiliation(s). Leave three blank lines before inserting the abstract. All articles should be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 500 words, clearly and concisely stating the results and conclusions of the paper. The names of all newly described taxa should be mentioned. No citations should be made. Key words (4-6 words) should be listed following the abstract.

3. Citations in the text

References in the text are to be cited by the author's surname, a comma, and year of publication. For a single author: (Chan, 1985); for two authors, an ampersand is used: (Polhemus & Polhemus, 1988); and for three or more authors: (Harrison et al., 1950).

Citations of direct quotations in the text should include the page numbers and should take the following form:

“Both Cantor (1846: 195) and Blanford (1888: 187) concur that...”

“Lekagul & McNeely (1988) considered it...”

“...recent sightings were all in or near mangroves (Yang et al., 1990)...”

“General accounts (Kloss, 1908; Chasen, 1924, 1940; Harrison, 1966) did not include...”

More than one citation in a sentence should be listed in chronological order with the publication year separated by a comma, e.g. "In series of papers, Bott (1966, 1968, 1970) revised…"

Only a taxonomic authority should appear in parentheses immediately following a binomial name: e.g. Lutra sumatrana (Gray, 1865). If any other reference is cited, there should be a clear indication that it is not a taxonomic authority, either by modification: e.g. "In Asia, there is intraspecific variation of L. lutra (see Harris, 1968)."; or by rearrangement: e.g. "There is intraspecific variation of L. lutra in Asia (Harris, 1968)."

4. Taxonomic papers

All scientific names proposed must be in accordance with the 4th Edition of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (1999). Descriptions of new taxa by one author in a paper under another's name are discouraged (e.g. Lim, in Tan & Ong, 1986). New taxa with more than three authors is discouraged. New taxa must carry the appropriate indications, e.g. Palapedia, new genus; Palapedia valentini, new species. Do not use 'sp. nov.', 'gen. nov', 'n. sp.' or 'n. gen.'. In previously described species, a comma must be inserted after the author's name, e.g. Garthasia americana (Garth, 1939). Relevant figure numbers should be listed under the heading, in normal text, within brackets. Supra-generic taxa that appear as headings should be capitalised only. Genus and species names that appear as headings should be bold, and accompanied by the author and the year. Synonymies must be cited in the short form (taxon, author, year, page), but the full reference must be provided at the end of the paper in the LITERATURE CITED. A telegraphic style is required for descriptions, diagnoses and keys. The origins of all new names must be briefly explained in a paragraph of its own, ETYMOLOGY. In the case of new genera, the gender must be stated.

The use of keys is encouraged. However, keys are difficult to typeset and authors must strictly adhere to the following guidelines. Keys should not be indented. Only the first line of each couplet is numbered with Arabic numerals followed by a period ".". This is followed by a left tab stop of 8 mm from the left margin. Keys must have a hanging indent of 8 mm. After the text of the first couplet has been typed, leave a space. Place a right tab stop on the right margin at the end of the first couplet and type in the numeral for the referring couplet. Authors should include with this right tab stop a dotted line leader. The second couplet must start with an en-dash and not a hyphen (en-dash is a dash that is as long as the width of the letter "n"). For example:

1. One rostral spine present. Ventral orbital margin invaginated ……………………………......… 2

– Three rostral spines present. Ventral orbital margin not invaginated ……..………………......... 3

2. Six or five pairs of dorsal setae. Abdomen surface smooth .................................................... Pontochelum laevum

– Four pairs of dorsal setae. Abdomen surface rugose ………………………………...................P. singaporensis

3. Outer margin of dorsal orbit spinate. Branchial carina strongly tuberculated. Carapace dorsal surface

pubescent…………………………….......................................................................................…… 4

– Outer margin of dorsal orbit U-shaped. Branchial carina smooth. Carapace dorsal surface glabrous

…………………………………………......................................................................................…... 5

5. Material and methods

Methodology should be clearly and concisely stated. Lists of abbreviations should appear here. Any deviation from the RBZ format that has been approved by the Editors must be explained in this section.

6. Material examined

The depositories where type specimens are kept or distributed must be clearly stated, including catalogue numbers if possible. These depositories should be responsible public institutions and not private collections. Abbreviations of depository names should be official ones and should be listed in the Material and Methods section. The holotype and paratype data must be clearly designated in separate paragraphs. The gender of specimens must be spelt in full and do not use male and female symbols. If the sex is not known, the abbreviation of the word example, 'ex.' will be used. Repetitious localities should be given locality or station numbers particularly with expedition material. Dates are to be written as 5 Jan.2004, with a period and no space in between month (represented by a three-letter abbreviation) and year. If a different format is necessary, authors are required to seek the approval of the editor. The material should be listed as follows: number of specimens and sex (remarks about specimen's condition or measurements) (depository catalogue number), locality, collector's name preceded by 'coll.', date of collection. Specimen lots are to be separated by semi-colons.

7. Literature Cited

All authors cited, including authorship of taxa, must be listed at the end of the manuscript under the section LITERATURE CITED. The full citations are to be listed in alphabetical and chronological order.

The first author's surname appears first, followed by his initials; those of junior authors are listed in reverse. Journal references should include year of publication, title of the paper, the journal name in full and italicized, volume in bold, issue should be in parentheses, and page numbers.

Book references should include author’s surname and initials, year of publication, title of the chapter, editor, title of book (italicized), publisher, city of publication and number of pages. Theses and dissertations that are the result of graduate studies are to be cited as books. All literature cited have a hanging indent of 5 mm. All references are to be complete; a period after author's initials should be followed by a single space. The word 'page' is abbreviated to 'p.' and 'pages' to 'pp.'. The word 'plate' is abbreviated to 'pl.' and 'plates' to 'pls.'. The references should follow the formats of the examples listed below precisely, including the punctuation, style and spacing:

1) Paper

Murphy, D. H., 1990. The natural history of insect herbivory on mangrove trees in and near Singapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 38(2): 119-204.

Komai, T., 2000. Redescription of Pagurus pectinatus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridae). In: Komai, T. (ed.), Results of Recent Research on Northeast Asian Biota. Natural History Research, Special Issue, 7: 323-337.

2) Book

Bleeker, P., 1856. Recherches sur les Crustacés de l'Inde Archipélagique. Lange & Co., Batavia. Pp. 1-40, pls. 1, 2.

King, B., M. Woodcock & E. C. Dickinson, 1975. A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia. Collins, London. 480 pp.

3) Book Chapter

Nakasone, Y. & M. Agena, 1984. Role of crabs as degrader of mangrove litters in the Okinawan mangals, and food habits of some estuarine fishes. In: Ikehara, S. & N. Ikehara (eds.), Ecology and Physiology of the Mangrove Ecosystem. College of Science, University of Ryukyus. Pp. 153-167.

4) Abstracts in Conference Proceedings

Naiyanetr, P., 1978. Six new species of freshwater crabs of Thailand. Abstracts of the National Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Kasetsart University, Bangkok, p. 84.

It is the author's responsibility to verify that all citations in the text are listed in the Literature Cited and vice versa.

8. Tables

Tables must be presented on separate pages with double spacing, and formatted with no vertical lines and minimal horizontal lines. They should be organised to fit the page format. All tables must have their own headings, be self-explanatory, and not require reference to the text. Lengthy headings are to be avoided, but supplementary notes are allowed. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numbers, e.g. Table 1, Tables 2-4.

9. Illustrations

The complete manuscript must be submitted via email inclusive of all figures in digital format. All line drawings, photographs (print or slide transparency), maps or graphs are referred to as 'figure(s)', abbreviated as 'Fig.' or Figs.". All figures must fit within the A4 page size format (including legends) either directly, or after reduction. Figures must be numbered in a single series throughout with Arabic numerals, in a sequence that follows some order. Each part of a composite figure should be numbered alphabetically and in some order (e.g. in the sequence of its arrangement). Legends for all figures must be provided on a separate sheet, self-explanatory, and not require reference to the text. Circled annotations should be made in the margins of the manuscript as to where the figures should be inserted. In providing an indication of size, scale bars are preferred, and must be inserted close to the relevant figure. Measurements referring to identifiable parts of the figure (e.g. SL) may be included in the legend. Magnification numbers are not allowed, except in EM photos, but the exact value must be inserted by the author in the final proofs.

For initial submission, photographic images that are either black and white or in colour are acceptable. To reduce file size and for reviewing purposes, they may be submitted in JPEG format (.jpg). These may be submitted individually, embedded in Microsoft© Word documents, or all combined into one PDF (Portable Document Format) file. Do not send digital images in any other formats. While resolution as low as 96 dpi for these image are tolerated, the image size should be at least 1024 by 768 pixels (about 270 mm by 200 mm).

For line drawings, the minimum resolution should be 300 dpi and image size to be at least 1024 by 768 pixels (about 270 mm by 200 mm). Authors should arrange their line drawings in such a way as to fit into an A4-size page.

For final submission, the profile of the original digital black & white photographs should be in greyscale, and RGB (Adobe 98 RGB preferred) for colour ones. Photographic images should be at least 300 dpi and image size should be at least 1800 by 1200 pixels (about 150 mm by 100 mm) and in TIFF format (.tif). Black and white photographic images should have high contrast and show fine detail. All scanned colour transparencies (35 mm slides) must be scanned at a minimum resolution of 2000 dpi if no cropping of the image is desired in the final publication.

Original line drawings should be at least 600 dpi and in either TIFF or BITMAP (.bmp) format. Author must remember that figures should be arranged for reduction and not enlargement when published.

Graphs are treated in the same manner as line drawings. Symbols used on maps should preferably be easily available for reproduction in the legend by the typesetter. A symbol should not be used in different sizes to represent different items.

RBZ editors reserve the right to request for unmodified or original images and failure to provide these images could result in the rejection of a manuscript.

10. Special requirements for corrected manuscripts

Once the manuscript is provisionally accepted, it is returned to the author with the referees' and Associate Editor's recommendations. The author is required to respond to each of the comments and incorporate necessary changes into the manuscript. The author should also provide justification for any disagreement with the recommendations. The corrected manuscript should be single-spaced throughout, i.e. as it would appear in the journal. The words, "THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY XXXX XX(X): XX-XX" followed by three blank lines and a short running title of no longer than 35 characters must appear before the title.

The corrected document along with the illustrations should be emailed back to the Associate Editor. The format of the journal should be complied with strictly. Deviation from the format will cause delays in the publication as it will be returned for corrections.

11. Long manuscripts

A table of contents should be provided for long manuscripts. This will be placed between the abstract and the introduction. An index of species and genera should be provided in taxonomic papers, if the arrangement of taxa has not been alphabetical, as in a phylogenetic arrangement. This is placed at the end of the manuscript, after Literature Cited.

3. Revision of Refereed Manuscripts, Proofs and Publication

1. Submission of manuscript for acceptance and publication

If an author disagrees with the referees' comments, the author is required to provide reasons via email to the Associate Editor. Manuscripts will only be accepted once the author has addressed all of the referees' recommendations or comments, and ensured that the format of the manuscript and illustrations comply with the format of this journal. If the format of the corrected manuscript is found to be not satisfying, the Editors may request authors to re-format the manuscripts (also applicable to figures, illustrations and tables). This would necessarily result in a delay in publication.

2. Proofs

Final proofs in PDF format are emailed to authors for correction together with Agreement for the Transfer of Copyright Form (Form 2) and Reprint Order Form (Forms 3A & 3B). The completed Form 2 (Agreement for the Transfer of Copyright) and Forms 3A & 3B (Reprint Order Forms) must be either emailed or faxed with the returned proofs. Should the proofs be delayed by a late reply or excessive corrections, the manuscript will be re-scheduled for publication.

3. Notification of publication

A protected PDF version of the paper will be sent to the corresponding author immediately upon publication via email or airmail (on a CD) for early reference.

4. Page Charges and Reprints

1. Page Charges

There will not be any page charges for publishing in the RBZ. However, authors with papers longer than 20 pages (about 40 manuscript pages) will have to email the Managing Editor to check for suitability for publication before emailing the manuscript.


The cost for the first 20 printed pages in the journal will be borne by the publisher (Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore). Longer manuscripts may be charged S$50 per page in excess of 20 printed pages. Authors whose complete manuscripts require more than 20 printed pages are requested to write to the editors before submission.

Authors who wish to publish colour plates will have to contribute towards their production. Colour plates are charged in sets of four: S$800 for each first page, and S$150 per page for the next three pages. Authors who have paid for the colour plates will receive five hardcopy free reprints.

2. Reprints

Authors will receive an electronic reprint in a protected PDF format for personal use (note that copyright remains with the publisher). Reprints may be purchased at S$0.50 per page. Page charges for pages with colour plates are priced at S$1.00 each. Reprints are normally available from the printer only two weeks after the journal is published. Authors are charged for postage and may choose surface mail or airmail delivery. The reprint order forms (Forms 3A & 3B) will be emailed to the corresponding authors with the final PDF proofs.