All manuscripts are submitted online through ScholarOne and are subject to review. We use single-anonymized peer review, meaning that the authors’ identity is known to the editors and to the reviewers, but that the reviewers’ identities are known only to the editors and are hidden from the authors, unless a reviewer chooses to sign their review. An initial review is done by the Managing Editor, who evaluates whether the manuscript is of sufficient quality and general interest for consideration by the Journal of Mammalogy (JM). The Managing Editor then assigns the manuscript to an appropriate Associate Editor with expertise in the general subject area, who also may assess whether the manuscript is suitable for outside review. Manuscripts that pass these initial evaluations will be sent to one or more outside reviewers. The assigned AE then evaluates the reviews and the manuscript and makes a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief, who makes the final decision regarding suitability for publication.
The editors reserve the right to edit manuscripts for style and clarity. Contributions are accepted for review and publication on the condition that they are submitted solely to JM and will not be reprinted or translated without permission from the publisher (Oxford University Press, OUP), although authors retain copyrights. ASM urges authors to deposit original data in a suitable public repository (see below). Send inquiries to the editorial office: jmammal.editorialoffice@jjeditorial.com
Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with the COPE guidelines. Further information about OUP's ethical policies is available on the Publication Ethics webpage.
In submitting a manuscript for publication in JM, the authors attest that their research was done ethically and in compliance with relevant local, national, or international regulations regarding the collection, care, and use of animals (including the maintenance of valid collecting and transport permits), and with necessary local approvals for access to and mindful use of field sites, especially environmentally or culturally sensitive areas. We encourage collaboration with local colleagues in the areas where field research is conducted, and expect that their contributions will be recognized in either the author line or Acknowledgments section, as warranted. Authors should consider the advice of Costello et al. (2016; Biological Conservation 203:268) for determining best practices for the ethical conduct of field research.
As described below, all authors must affirm that their research practices followed ASM guidelines (Sikes et al. 2016) for the use of wild mammals in research, including obtaining approval of their institutional animal care and use committee when necessary. Editors maintain the discretion to reject work that is deemed to be unethical and that does not comply with these guidelines.
The pages of JM are open to all members of the scientific community, whether they work independently or for academic, government, industry, or other organizations. To enable our editors, peer reviewers, and readers to assess professional credentials of authors, as well as any potential biases, we ask that authors disclose all information about their employment affiliations and any financial interests relevant to the work that the author has submitted for publication in JM. Reviewers should also disclose similar information relevant to the works they are asked to evaluate.
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. ASM has adopted the definition of authorship used by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Specifically, authorship is based on the following four criteria:
Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be mentioned in the Acknowledgments but not listed as an author. The Journal does not allow ghost authorship, where an unnamed author prepares the article with no credit, or courtesy or honorary authorship, where an author who made little or no contribution is listed as an author. The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on investigating and resolving these cases. For more information, please see the OUP Publication Ethics page.
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and JM will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content, write code, or process data) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE position statement on Authorship and AI for more details.
The corresponding author affirms that the work submitted for publication is original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and is responsible for ensuring that contributions of all authors are correct. It is expected that all authors will have reviewed, discussed and agreed to their individual contributions as shared by the corresponding author. After manuscript submission, no authorship changes (including the authorship list, author order, and who is designated as the corresponding author) should be made without the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. All co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates authorship disputes. Any authorship disputes must be resolved among the individuals and their institution(s) before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. If an authorship dispute or change arises after a paper is accepted, contact OUP’s Author Support team. COPE provides guidance for authors on resolving authorship disputes. If you intend to use Read and Publish funding to publish your manuscript under an open access license, note that changing the corresponding author to access those funds is not permissible. For more information on Read and Publish funding, see the Open access charges section.
The Journal uses the contributor roles taxonomy (CRediT) to allow authors to describe their contributor roles in a standardized, transparent, and accurate way. Authors should choose from the contributor roles outlined on the CRediT website and supply this information during the initial submission process. You may choose multiple contributor roles per author. Any other individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments with their contributions clearly described. Following initial manuscript submission, any changes to contributor roles require the approval of the Editor-in-Chief.
Effective with the February 2024 issue, the Journal of Mammalogy will be published online only.
To save authors time, JM no longer requires that manuscripts submitted for initial review be formatted in the final JM format and style. If your manuscript is invited for Minor Revisions, you must format it to follow JM format and style. Please consult the “Minor Revisions Submissions” section below for formatting requirements at revision. Revised manuscripts that do not conform to JM format and style will be returned to the author before additional processing.
Manuscripts invited for Minor Revision must be formatted by the submitting author to the proper JM format and style. Authors will be asked to provide Teaser Text and Teaser Image as part of the submission process (see below). All figures must also be uploaded in TIFF or EPS format.
Revised Manuscripts should include the following sections, written and assembled in this order: title page, Introduction (no subheading, no indentation), Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, Supplementary Data, References, Figure Legends, Tables, Appendices (if needed). Every Figure and Supplementary Data file must be uploaded as a separate file.
The title page should include, in this order:
Below the key words, skip 2 lines and then begin the Introduction, which does not have a heading. JM employs up to four levels of headings, although most articles will use only levels #1 (major section headings) and #3. All headings are in sentence case and left-justified. #3 and #4 headings are italicized and end with a period, followed immediately by the text on the same line. Left-justify text immediately following a #1 heading (unless it begins with a #3 heading), then indent, then indent subsequent paragraphs. Alternate headings may be used for nomenclatural papers (see below).
The Methods section must include a statement indicating that research on live animals followed ASM guidelines (Sikes et al. 2016 Journal of Mammalogy 97:663-688) and, if relevant, was approved by an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC). Submissions from authors whose research involved the use of “human subjects” (as defined in U.S. federal law) must include evidence of approval from an institutional review board (IRB).
JM follows the Council of Science Editors (CSE), 8th edition style. Please refer to these requirements when preparing the manuscript. More information on the style guide is available. US spelling should be used throughout, except in quotations and in references. Authors whose primary language is not English should consider using ASM’s “Buddy System” to improve the presentation of their work.
Taxonomy follows the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World and the ASM Mammal Diversity Database, mammaldiversity.org. All common names of mammals should be accompanied by the scientific name at first use. Capitalize the first letter of common names when referred to specifically, e.g. Bushy-tailed Woodrat; Sinaloan Mastiff Bat but mastiff bats; Alaskan Hare but Alaskan hares. Newer names are accepted; older names need justification. Use serial commas (“a, b, and c” rather than “a, b and c”) and avoid modifier strings, sequential parentheses, and footnotes in the text.
Cite references in the text using the “Author-Year” format, with multiple in-text citations ordered chronologically (Author1 1998; Author2 1999) and separated by semicolons. Use the first author’s last name and “et al.” for in-text citation of works with 3 or more authors or editors, and cite in chronological order by lead author. For multiple works by an author in the same year, cite as “a”, “b”, etc. (e.g. Author 2010a, 2010b), with the first article cited in text denoted as “a” and separated by a comma.
The references cited should direct readers to key literature. Use the fewest references necessary; rarely are more than three citations needed to support a given point. Unpublished data and reports and preprints cannot be cited, and accepted manuscripts must be verified as “in press.” Personal observations or communications should be cited parenthetically in the text; the citation must include the source’s name and affiliation and the date of the communication: (Smith HJ, [university or other affiliation, city, state], personal communication, [day, month, year]). Submit letters from authors of personal communications giving permission to use the material.
Define all non-standard symbols, and spell out all acronyms at first use. When using scientific names, spell out the genus name on first use (Marmota caligata), and whenever it is the first word in a sentence. After first use, abbreviate it with the initial (M. caligata). Avoid creating abbreviations and acronyms unless a term is used at least five times.
Use the metric system and SI units for all weights and measures. “Holocene” not “Recent”; “K/Pg” not “K/T”; use BP for years before present, My to indicate 10 6 years, and Ma to indicate million years ago (equivalent to Ma BP for million years before present), e.g., “The Cretaceous Period lasted 80 My, from 144 Ma to 65 Ma.” Use numerals rather than words to express whole and decimal numbers in scientific text, titles, headings, tables, and figure captions. Spell out single-digit ordinals, e.g. ninth, fourth, and common fractions, e.g. one-third, three-quarters.
All details of statistical outcomes reported should be provided, and degrees of freedom should be reported as subscripts of test statistics (e.g., t2 = 3.76, P < 0.04; F6,198 = 0.253, P = 0.618). All single- letter parameters and test statistics should be in italics, e.g. F, G, P, R, r, R2, t, U, W, z, but SD, SE, CI, and d.f. are not italicized.
Spell out mean in text, but use x̄ with values; e.g., "We report mean ± SD", but "10.4 ± 2.3 (x̄ ± SD). Spell out chi-square test but use X2 with values; e.g., “We used a chi-square test . . .”, but X2 = 234.55." Spell out all statistical acronyms at first use; thereafter, use the acronym.
All tables and figures should be interpretable without reference to the manuscript; that is, they should “stand alone.” Legends should therefore include species names, locations, and dates of collection for information presented in tables or figures.
Each table should begin on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables must be provided as text, e.g., as a formatted table in Word, not as a fixed image. Capitalize only the first word in column or row headings, except for proper nouns, and use bold font (and indent) only for "Table xx." Use lowercase letters to indicate footnotes in tables. Tables should have no vertical lines and only three horizontal lines (across the top, under the column heading, and at the bottom).
For all figures, legends must be listed on a single, separate page, not on the figure images. “Figure Legends” should be written at the top of the page (#1 heading), followed by the legends in numerical order and double-spaced. Use “Fig. x. xxx”, not “Figure x. xxx”.
Refer to the Guidelines for Figures in the JM for detailed advice on drafting figures and technical advice from OUP on file formats and sizes. Strive to make your figures as accessible as possible to all readers. Authors are free to use color in figures, but in the interest of accessibility, should also consider that some readers may not be able to view or print in full color. Artwork submitted for publication should be of the highest quality, in vector-graphic format if possible, or with a minimum resolution of 600 dpi for line art and 400 dpi for photographs at 4 x 6 inches for figures intended to run within the article. Maps must include latitude and longitude ticks and, if appropriate, a N arrow and scale bar, and should be understandable on their own. As described on this page, OUP supports use of the Sketchfab platform for in-page display of 3D models in the online article.
Please use a common file format for figures (e.g., EPS, TIFF). The Editor-in-Chief will make a decision on the size at which to publish any given figure. Make lettering and figure legends as large as possible so as to be legible when published. For multi-panel figures, label each panel clearly with a capital letter (e.g., “A”, “B”) and use the same lettering in the figure legend to identify the panel being described. Authors are welcome to submit a color photo for consideration as a cover, as a separate file.
For figures that are not owned by the authors, authors should aim to obtain the broadest distribution rights possible (i.e., all formats, all editions, all languages, worldwide, for the entire term of copyright) and should always obtain both electronic and print rights. If you are unable to obtain electronic rights to third-party content you must consult with the Editor-in-Chief before proceeding.
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
All references cited in the text must be listed in the References section, including authority citations for scientific names in nomenclatural papers. Works that are not cited must not be listed. References are presented in alphabetical order by all authors, and chronologically for references with identical author lines. List the name of every author or editor, unless there are 11 or more, in which case list the first 10 authors, followed by “et al.” and the year. Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns of the title of a reference and italicize all scientific names in the article titles, even if they were not italicized in the original journal. Write out the full names of all journals.
Below are examples of the citation formats used in the References section. Please use these formats when preparing your manuscript.
Rose RK, Pemberton DA, Mooney NJ, Jones ME. 2017. Sarcophilus harrisii (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae). Mammalian Species 49(942):1–17. https://doi.org/10.1093/mspecies/sex001.
Sikes RS, Animal Care and Use Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists. 2016. 2016 Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research and education. Journal of Mammalogy 97(3):663–688. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyw078.
Durant SM, Mitchell N, Groom R, Pettorelli N, Ipavec A, Jacobson AP, Woodroffe R, Böhm M, Hunter LTB, Becker MS, et al. 2017. The global decline of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and what it means for conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(3):528–533. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1611122114.
Foresman KR. 2012. Mammals of Montana. 2nd ed. Missoula (MT, USA): Mountain Press.
Gardner AL, editor. 2007 [2008]. Mammals of South America. Vol. 1, Marsupials, xenarthrans, shrews, and bats. Chicago (IL, USA): University of Chicago Press.
Fahr J. 2013. Rhinolophus ziama. Ziama horseshoe bat. In: Happold M, Happold DCD, editors. Mammals of Africa. Vol. 4, Hedgehogs, shrews, and bats. London (UK): Bloomsbury Publishing; p. 355–356.
Garshelis DL. 2009. Family Ursidae. In: Wilson DE, Mittermeier RA, editors. Handbook of the mammals of the world. Vol. 1, Carnivores. Barcelona (Spain): Lynx Edicions; p. 448–497.
Armitage KB, Blumstein DT. 2002. Body-mass diversity in marmots. In: Armitage KB, Rumiantsev VY, editors. Holarctic marmots as a factor of biodiversity. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Marmots; 25–30 Aug 1997; Cheboksary (Russia); Moscow (Russia): ABF Publishing House; p. 22–40.
Zielinski WJ. 1995. Track plates. In: Zielinski WJ, Kucera TE, editors. American marten, fisher, lynx, and wolverine: survey methods for their detection. Albany (CA, USA): US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-157; p. 67–89.
Roach JL. 1999. Genetic analysis of a black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) metapopulation in shortgrass steppe [master’s thesis]. [Fort Collins (CO, USA)]: Colorado State University.
Stewart PD. 1997. The social behaviour of the European badger, Meles meles [dissertation]. [Oxford (UK)]: University of Oxford.
(cite as “(Author Year)” in the text and include web address only in Literature Cited).
ESRI. 2002. ArcView GIS. Version 3.3. [Computer software]. Redlands (CA, USA): Environmental System Research Institute, Inc. www.esri.com.
R Development Core Team. 2012. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Version 2.14.2. Vienna (Austria): R Foundation for Statistical Computing. www.R-project.org.
Supplementary Data files (e.g., documents, spreadsheets, figures, databases, equations, video or audio files) that enhance or elaborate, but are not essential to a reader’s understanding of the research may be hosted online. Information needed to understand or interpret results must be included in the manuscript. For taxonomic, nomenclatural, and phylogenetic studies, a list of specimens examined, catalog numbers, and institutional repository locations should follow the paper from online to hardcopy print in perpetuity via inclusion as an Appendix rather than Supplementary Data.
Supplementary files should conform to JM style. Editors and reviewers will view the file during peer review, but we will not copyedit, typeset, or format Supplementary Data, and materials must be ready for e-posting when the manuscript is submitted for review. Supplementary files should be referenced in your manuscript, e.g., “see Supplementary Data SD1”. All Supplementary Data should be labeled as “Supplementary Data SD1, SD2, …,” consecutively through the manuscript. A short legend for each file should be included in a section titled, “Supplementary Data,” between the Acknowledgments and Literature Cited sections. “Supplementary Data” uses a #1 heading style, but subsequent references to each supporting document should be formatted as follows (indented): Supplementary Data SD1.—Text (legend) follows em-dash.
Because e-only Supplementary Data files are published separately from the manuscript, captions in the files must be sufficiently detailed to allow them to stand alone. If references are cited in the Supplementary Data, but not in the manuscript itself, the references should appear only at the end of the Supplementary Data file, in JM format.
Supplementary Data can be in the form of documents (Word, Excel, pdf, etc.), audio files (mp3), or video files (.avi, .mov, .mp4, .mpg, .flv, .swf format, MPEG-2, or MPEG-4 preferred). Audio and video files should be no more than 10 minutes in length. For video files, submit a still shot from the video (JPG, TIF, or EPS) to use as a thumbnail in the article. Three-dimensional objects and geographic information system data should be KML files.
Where ethically feasible, JM strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. All DNA sequence data must be submitted to GenBank before the paper can be published. In addition, all alignments (regardless of whether or not they include insertion/deletion events or manual adjustments) must be submitted to GenBank, Dryad, TreeBASE, or included as Supplementary Data to be archived with the published manuscript. Museum catalog numbers for all voucher specimens (including associated tissue) examined must be included in the manuscript (in an Appendix if numerous). Any newly collected raw qualitative or quantitative morphological data must be submitted as either Supplementary Data or deposited to a third-party public repository. Summary statistics, e.g., means, must also include sample sizes, standard deviations, range, etc., to facilitate future analyses.
JM supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:
[dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier
*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.
Software citations should include the minimum information recommended by the FORCE11 Software Citation Implementation Group:
Author/Developer, Release date, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier
If there is an article describing the software, it is recommended to cite both the software and the article .
Authors of Research Articles are required to submit “teaser text” as part of the article. The teaser text should clearly summarize the focus and findings of the article for non-expert readers, and will appear only in the Table of Contents, Advance Access listing, search results, and the Journal homepage display. The text should be no longer than 280 characters, and it should be submitted as part of the main manuscript file, under the heading ‘Teaser Text’ before the abstract. As in the abstract, avoid citations and define any abbreviations. Authors of Research Articles are also required to submit a “teaser image” as part of the article that will appear in the JM online Table of Contents. The image file should be clearly named (e.g., teaser_image.tiff) and be submitted as a separate file, selecting the appropriate file-type designation in the journal’s online submission system. The image can be a figure or image from the manuscript or it may be a new graphic, i.e., a graphical abstract, that highlights a noteworthy aspect of the manuscript or is synthesis of key results. Attractive and informative teaser figures may be useful for promoting the article in social media or other venues.
A Commentary is typically shorter than a Research Article and can take one of several forms, including:
Contributions from readers offering relevant comments and providing objective and scholarly criticism of previously published articles should be constructive, professional, and polite. We strive to adhere to COPE guidelines on post-publication critiques for papers in that category.
The Commentary should be titled “RE: [Title of the original work].” Complete references should be given if the Commentary cites the work of others, and the original work must be included in the reference list.
At the discretion of the editors, a Commentary being considered for publication may be sent to the authors of the original article to give them the opportunity to submit a Response. If an author does not submit a Response, the Journal may publish a statement indicating this to readers. To enable readers to evaluate the arguments presented, the Commentary and Response are linked to the original article, are typically published online simultaneously, and may be published together in the same issue. After the initial Commentary and Response, no further submissions on the same topic will be considered.
The Response should be titled “Response to…” using the last names of the first three authors who wrote the Commentary followed by “and others” if there are more than three authors.
Submitted commentaries will undergo an initial assessment by the editors, at which point they may be rejected, sent for revision, or accepted. At the discretion of the editors, the Commentary may be sent for peer review or may be considered without external peer review. Commentaries on the same topic or in response to the same article may be grouped, sent to the corresponding author of the original article for reply, and published at the same time. Authors of the Commentary and Response may be asked to complete authorship forms, disclose conflicts of interest, and sign publishing agreements (if accepted), as with any manuscript submitted or published in the Journal. The Journal may request revisions to the Commentary and Response for content, length, clarity, grammar, style, and format.
Perspectives are concise descriptions of new findings of general interest. Topical items under this heading convey to the reader, in relatively nontechnical style, a synopsis, analysis, or overview of an emerging or potentially exciting new approach, subdiscipline, or discovery in mammalogy; Discussions of appropriate data analyses or of thematic issues to emerge from recent scientific meetings are examples of suitable subject areas. Complete references should be given if the Perspective cites the work of others, and the original work(s) must be included in the reference list.
Special Features are collections composed of several articles that relate to a specific subject (e.g., biogeography, physiology) that might be of interest to mammalogists and other scientists. These may come from ASM symposia or from themes of particular interest to mammalogists and others, and can be solicited or suggested by authors. In consultation with the Editor-in-Chief, the Editor for Special Features solicits manuscripts, sets deadlines for their submission, and manages the review process, including decisions on acceptability for publication.
Special Features are coordinated by an organizer, who liaises between the authors and the Special Features Editor. The Special Feature organizer identifies 4-6 contributing authors, each of whom will serve as point person for a paper. The organizer should send the Special Features Editor the titles of 4-6 proposed papers, each of which will be overseen by one of the contributing authors (1 contributing author per paper, typically but not necessarily first or senior (author), a summary (2-3 sentences) of each forthcoming paper, and a deadline for submission. All of these can be tentative—we understand that the Special Feature may evolve over the life of its development. Organizers have broad freedom to shape the Special Feature as they see fit. We only ask that no individual author be on over half of the papers in the Special Feature, and that no individual author be first or senior author on more than one paper.
When the Special Features Editor receives a Special Feature proposal, the Special Features Editor will confer with the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor to ensure that the Special Feature is suitable for the journal. Then, the Special Features Editor will communicate a decision to the organizer: approval or rejection. Approval may be accompanied by suggested alterations to the proposal.
After the Special Feature organizer(s) receive approval to initiate their Special Feature, the authors should write their manuscripts. The authors will initially send their manuscripts directly to the organizer(s) for a round of friendly reviews in which Special Feature authors review each other's manuscripts (2-3 reviews per manuscript). Organizers should be sure to communicate any changes to the Special Feature that occur during this stage (e.g., deadline modification, modifications to manuscripts, etc.) to the Special Features Editor.
Once the authors have incorporated comments from friendly review into their manuscripts, they submit them to the journal (friendly reviews should be submitted as supplementary information for review only). The Managing Editor will assign these articles to the Special Features Editor who will then oversee external peer review of each manuscript (in the event of conflicts of interest, papers will be assigned to Associate Editors with suitable expertise). During external peer review, manuscripts follow the standard process for the journal. Given that the organizer and authors will have worked closely together and that each manuscript will already have undergone friendly review, the external peer review process should typically go smoothly, but each manuscript must pass peer review on its own, like all other manuscripts published in the journal. That point must be clear: Special Feature authors must work from the start to ensure all manuscripts are high quality.
While authors are writing their manuscripts, organizers should simultaneously develop a short, introductory paper for the Special Feature. Typically, the introductory paper is 1-2 published pages, but it can be a full-length paper. Organizers are welcome to be an author on papers beyond the introductory paper, but this is not a requirement.
Once all manuscripts pass external peer review, the Special Features Editor will forward them to the Editor-in-Chief with a recommendation that the Special Feature be published.
For questions, comments, and suggestions for Special Features, please contact Jesse Alston at jmalston@arizona.edu.
Papers that propose new names for new taxa at any rank, from subspecies through superfamily, or that perform other nomenclatural acts involving these taxa are regulated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A description of a new taxon must include a name, explicitly stating that it is for the new taxon (see below for an example), and use the style shown below. Species and subspecies descriptions must include designation of a preserved physical holotype at more than the histological level and the name and location of the institution where it is, or will be, deposited, type locality, diagnosis, description, distribution, etymology, nomenclatural statement (prepared by JM editorial staff), and comparisons with other taxa of equivalent rank; other common sections may include paratypes (or other types), common name, ecology, and other sections as necessary. For new genus-group names, a type species must be fixed. For family-group names, the type genus must be fixed. Nomenclatural papers will be registered by JM editorial staff with ZooBank, and a Life Sciences Identifier number (LSID) will be secured. We recommend #3-style subheadings for these subsections (see subheading styles above). Refer to recent issues of JM for examples.
For new names and taxonomic synonymies, headings should include full attribution of the author(s) of the name followed by a comma and the year of publication. Common names of new species, if provided, are centered on the next line. Note that attribution is distinct from citation, and this formatting style formally distinguishes nomenclatural attribution from literature citation (which lack the comma), although authors should include these nomenclatural references in the Literature Cited. This formatting keeps JM consistent with attribution given in synonymies for Mammalian Species (Gardner and Hayssen 2004 Mammalian Species 739):
(genus and species indeterminate)
Rattus detentus, new species Timm, Weijola, Aplin, Flannery, and Pine
Sorex merriami Dobson, 1890
Crocidura rapax G. Allen, 1923
Meriones unguiculatus (Milne-Edwards, 1867)
Typically, nomenclatural papers will be vetted for proper ICZN formatting with the American Society of Mammalogists Nomenclature Committee prior to acceptance for publication.
Journal of Mammalogy publishes obituaries for eminent mammalogists and ASM members in good standing who have had notable impact on mammalogy through their research, teaching, advocacy for policy/legislation, ASM service, or other contributions. Obituaries may be prepared in either a longer or shorter format. Shorter format obituaries are approximately 500–1,000 words in length and may include 1–3 photographs, with legends, and may include a list of selected publications (< 10) if desired—refer to this example for shorter format. Longer format obituaries may be more than 1,000 words, typically include additional photographs, and may contain a list of publications—refer to this example for longer format. Contact the Editor-in-Chief for advice on writing and submitting an obituary and whether the shorter or longer format is most appropriate. Obituaries should be titled ‘Obituary: First name Middle initial Last name (birth to death date range)’.
Members of the ASM are eligible to receive discounts on publishing fees. To obtain these discounts, when requested on the Author Portal to "Please enter American Society of Mammalogists membership number," ASM members should enter their ASM-registered email address.
Authors who wish their artwork to appear in color in print will be charged a fee for each image. There is no fee for color figures for online-only publication or if an image is used on the cover of JM.
ASM member color print charge: $600 per figure
Non-ASM member color print charge: $900 per figure
Articles in JM are subject to a charge per printed page (roughly three or four manuscript pages is equivalent to one printed page).
ASM member page charge: $20 per page
Non-ASM member page charge: $100 per page
ASM recognizes that some authors, e.g., students, emeritus researchers, or those from developing countries, may not have access to grant or institutional funds for publishing their work in JM. To assist this subset of authors, the Society established a Hardship Publishing Grants Program, which will pay up to $200 US in page charges at the ASM Member rate ($20 per page or 10 pages) for publishing an accepted manuscript in JM. Funds cannot be used for Open Access fees. To be eligible for a grant, the lead or corresponding author must be an ASM member in good standing at the time of manuscript submission, and must stipulate that neither they, nor any of their co-authors, have any funds to pay page charges, even at the lower Member rate. Interested authors should contact the ASM Publications Director (ASMpubs@gmail.com) at the time of manuscript submission for more information on the grants program and application procedures.
JM offers the option of publishing under either a standard license or an open access license. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access license in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access license.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia that provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
ASM Members in good standing are eligible for a 25% discount on the open access charges. Authors must prove eligibility for the member discount.
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/ submitting author and that Oxford University Press (“OUP”) may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change.
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at OUP, authors will be invited to complete an online license to publish form. Once invited, the license form should be signed within 24 hours. If we have not received confirmation of signature by the time the manuscript arrives, your manuscript may be delayed.
It is a condition of publication for all Oxford Journals that authors grant an exclusive license to OUP or ASM. This ensures that all necessary rights needed for publication are in place, including provision for any requests from third parties, to reproduce content from the journals efficiently and consistently by OUP, and enabling the content to be as widely disseminated as possible. No article will be published unless the signed license has been received at Oxford Journals.
As part of the terms of the license agreement, authors may use their own material in other publications written or edited by themselves provided that JM is acknowledged as the original place of publication, as well as OUP. As the author(s), copyright of the article remains yours (or your employer’s if your employer claims copyright in your work). Please follow this link for full details of Oxford Journals’ copyright policy and the rights retained by you/your institution under the terms of the license.
If previously published figures, tables, or parts of text are to be included, the copyright-holder’s permission must have been obtained prior to submission. For more information on how to obtain permissions, please consult Rights and Permissions.
ASM has a “Buddy System” that includes colleagues who have expressed willingness to assist authors with the presentation of their research. If English is not your primary language, you may request a ‘‘buddy’’ who will volunteer his or her time to assist you. Please follow this link for additional information about the ASM “Buddy System”. Contact the Managing Editor to be put in contact with a “buddy”. To gain access to the Buddy System, your manuscript must first be preliminarily reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, or an Associate Editor, and be considered suitable for JM. It is expected that any manuscript that receives assistance from the Buddy System will subsequently be submitted to JM.
Oxford University Press partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago, via this link: https://www.enago.com/pub/oup. Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will still undergo peer review by the journal.
BioOne, which aggregates content from ASM journals, has an agreement with Charlesworth Author Services, a language editing service, which provides a 10% discount to authors of the ASM journals.
You may also wish to find your own English language editing services. Specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these, or others. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication.