Manuscript preparation

(Revised in April 2025)

Submission method

Manuscripts should be submitted via the journal’s Online Submission System (http://dwxzz.ioz.ac.cn) after registration. Upon submission, the authors’ hand-signed Submission Commitment and Copyright Transfer Agreement (including author contribution statements) must be uploaded as an attachment to the system.

Submission requirements

l  Manuscripts should feature reliable data, articulate arguments, concise language, a lucid structure, and legible figures and tables.

l  For submitted manuscripts, the funding information (including project category and approval number) and the first author’s profile (name, gender, academic degree or title, research field, and email address) should be indicated in the footnote at the bottom of the first page. In addition, details of the corresponding author should be provided (if any).

l  Research reviews and progress reports should be authored by researchers with extensive expertise in the relevant discipline. The content must reflect the latest domestic and international research outcomes, advancements, as well as the authors’ contributions and perspectives.

l  For short articles reporting new species distribution discovery at the provincial level or above, only Chinese and English titles are required, followed directly by the main text. The report should be concise and informative, with a total word count not exceeding 500 words. The use of tables is discouraged; however, one figure may be included to illustrate the findings. References should be cited in the text following the standard format for full-length articles, and a corresponding reference list must be provided at the end of the manuscript.

l  When reporting animal experiments, authors must clearly state in the manuscript that the study has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate ethics committee (or explain why ethical review was not required, along with a justification). The manuscript should specify the name of the ethics committee and the approval number. If the research involves nationally protected animal species, the corresponding permit number issued by the relevant administrative authority must also be provided.

l  This journal encourages the submission and sharing of data associated with papers in data repositories. The recommended repository is Science Data Bank (ScienceDB). For detailed information, please refer to the Data Submission Guidelines of Chinese Journal of Zoology.

Formatting requirements for papers (Please refer to the manuscript submission samples in the Author Guidelines on the journal’s website, and make sure to mark the line numbers).

Title  The title should be concise and informative to facilitate indexing and retrieval. Chinese titles should typically not exceed 20 characters. For English titles, the maximum length is set at 10 content words, with the uppercase initial of each content word capitalized.

Authorship  Only those who have made significant contributions to the research and can take responsibility for its content should be listed as authors.

Affiliation  The full official name of the author’s affiliated institution, along with its location and postal code, should be included.

Chinese Abstract  Placed at the beginning of the text. The content must incorporate four essential components: the scientific questions addressed, the research methodologies employed, the findings obtained, and the conclusions drawn. For ecological survey manuscripts, the research methodology should cover details such as sampling plots, quadrats, or line transects, the survey intensity, as well as the statistical analysis methods applied to the data. The research results section should present the key data obtained from the study.

English Abstract  Placed below the Chinese abstract. The English title, Chinese Pinyin names of all authors (e.g., 周立红 ZHOU Li-Hong), institutional name, location, postal code, and country of affiliation must be provided. The English abstract should be more comprehensive than the Chinese version and structured using distinct sections labeled [Objectives], [Methods], [Results], and [Conclusion]. Specifically, the [Methods] section must detail the statistical analysis methods applied to the data. In the [Results] section, key data should be presented, accompanied by references to corresponding figures and tables, along with concise explanations. This structure ensures that English-speaking readers can comprehensively grasp the study’s findings solely through the English abstract and the bilingual (Chinese-English) figures and tables provided.

Keywords  Three to five keywords, in both Chinese and English, should be listed separately below the respective abstracts.

Chinese library classification number  Listed beneath the keywords based on the Chinese Library Classification (4th Edition).

Main text  The entire text should be typeset in a full-column format. The introduction of the paper should be untitled. It should primarily outline the research background, provide a concise overview of relevant domestic and international studies, and elucidate the objectives and significance of the present research, as well as carefully select references. In the “Materials and Methods” section, the origin of materials and the sources of methods should be described in detail. The latitude and longitude range of the study area must be provided. Results should present comprehensive data; for macroscopic studies, field-captured animal photographs are highly recommended. When statistical analyses are conducted, full statistical results, rather than just P-values, must be reported. Manuscripts focusing on microscopic morphology must include experimental photographs as supporting evidence. The text should be concise and clear, with descriptions closely aligning with the information presented in figures and tables. In the discussion section, arguments should be developed based on the research background outlined in the introduction, data from the results, and observed phenomena, aiming to resolve research questions and draw well-founded conclusions.

Full text formatting specifications: The manuscript should use simplified Chinese characters, legal units of measurement, standardized symbols, nouns, terminologies, and numerals as prescribed by national regulations. For English abbreviations used for the first time, the Chinese equivalent should be provided first, followed by the full English name and its abbreviation enclosed in parentheses. When a species name first appears in the text, its scientific name should be included (Genus and species names should be in italics, with the genus name having an uppercase initial). Nomenclature used in the manuscript should remain consistent throughout.

Subheadings Subheadings should be concise, precise, and clearly structured. All headings should be continuous numbering using Arabic numerals and flush left formatting: “1” (first-level headings), “1.1” (second-level headings), “1.1.1” (third-level headings), etc.

Figures and tables

Figures and tables should be carefully selected, and data presented in figures must not overlap with that in tables. All textual elements within figures and tables should be provided in both Chinese and English. Serial numbers should be assigned using Arabic numerals, clearly indicated at the points of citation in the text. Figures and tables should be inserted immediately following the paragraphs in which they are referenced. The specific requirements are as follows:

Line graphs  Line graphs should be generated using computer software. For half-column figures, the maximum width should not exceed 70 mm; for full-column figures, the width limit is 145 mm. The main lines (function lines) should have a thickness of 0.75 points, while the auxiliary lines (coordinate axes) should be 0.50 points thick.

Photographic figure  Both black-and-white and color photographs should exhibit moderate contrast and clear layers. For microscopic and electron micrograph images, the length scale and magnification must be clearly indicated. Photographs should be arranged neatly. The height of the plate should not exceed 190 mm, the width should not exceed 145 mm, and a 1 mm gap should be maintained between photo spacing.

Maps  World maps, national maps, or maps depicting two or more provinces should not be used unless necessary. If such maps are essential, the standard map base provided by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation must be employed. The boundaries of the base used should remain completely unaltered (including the location of the South China Sea Islands). To accommodate map scaling during typesetting, the scale should be represented in the form of a linear scale rather than a numerical scale. The map caption should state that the map is created based on the standard map approval number GS(20xx)xxxx downloaded from the Standard Map Service website of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, and that the base map remains unmodified.

Tables  should adopt the three-line table format (vertical lines are not required). They must be inputted in tabular form, with dotted lines used for internal row and column separators.

References

Only the most relevant Chinese and foreign references should be listed, and authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of the cited literature. This journal employs the “Author Year” citation format.

In-text citation format

Use the “Author Year” format to indicate the source of the cited literature. When there are two or more authors for the cited literature, indicate it in the text citation with “等” or “et al.” following the first author.

For instance, single author (郑光美 1987, Abbot 2001); two or more authors (Laycock et al. 1975, 冯祚建等 1985).

When citing multiple references simultaneously, arrange them in ascending order of publication year.

For references with the same first author and publication year, append lowercase letters (a, b, etc.) after the year in the order of citation to distinguish them. The corresponding letters should also be added (a, b, etc.) after the publication years in the reference list at the end of the article.

Reference list format

References should be presented in the original language of the cited works. List the first three authors; for works with more than three authors, add “et al.” or “等”. When writing the names of foreign authors, present the surname first, followed by the initials of the given name without periods. Separate author names with “,”. Reference list should be arranged with Western literature preceding Chinese literature. Western literature references should be sorted in ascending order based on the first author’s surname initial, while Chinese literature references should be arranged in ascending order according to the Chinese pinyin of the first author’s surname. The specific format is detailed as follows:

Journal articles
Author(s). Year of publication. Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue): Page range.
(Note: For English journal articles, capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns or scientific names; use lowercase for other words in the title. Use the full official journal name. Volume and issue numbers must be complete.)

Examples:

Wu P, Zhou K Y. 1998. General condition of systematics study on Tesudines. Chinese Journal of Zoology, 33(6): 38–45.

郑光美. 1987. 黄腹角雉. 动物学杂志, 22(5): 40–43.

Monographs (Books)

Author(s). Year of publication. Book Title. Edition (omit if first edition). Place of publication: Publisher, Page range.
(Note: For English book titles, capitalize the first letter of the first word and of all content words; use lowercase for other words.)

Examples:

Jiang Z G. 1997. Conservation Biology. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Science and Technology Press, 160–164.

孙儒泳. 1992. 动物生态学原理. 2版. 北京: 北京师范大学出版社, 329–330.

Conference proceedings

Author(s). Year of Publication year. Title of the paper // Editor. Title of the Collected Volume. Place of publication: Publisher, Page range.

(Note: For English paper titles, capitalize the first letter of the first word and proper nouns; for the volume title, capitalize the first letter of the first word and all content words.)

Examples:

Yang T. 1997. On the leeches from Wuling Mountains area in south China // Song D X. Invertebrates of Wuling Mountains Area, Southwestern China. Beijing: Science Press, 395–399.

陈大元. 1999. 动物显微受精与克隆研究 // 中国动物学会. 中国动物科学研究. 北京: 中国林业出版社, 59–64.

Theses and dissertations

Author(s). Year of defense. Title. Preservation location: Preservation institution and document type (master’s or doctoral dissertation), Page range.

Example:

张劲硕. 2009. 蝙蝠分类的整合研究. 北京: 中国科学院动物研究所博士学位论文, 30–32.

Electronic literature

Main responsible person. Year of Publication. Title: Additional information [literature type marker/literature carrier marker]. Place of Publication: Publisher, (Update or revision date, if any) [Date of access]. URL.

(Note: The literature type marker, literature carrier marker, and date of access must be indicated. For other formatting requirements, follow the standards of the aforementioned literature types.) Examples:

Gill F, Donsker D. 2011. IOC World Bird Names. Ver. 2.10. [EB/OL]. [2011-10-24]. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/

王建议. 出版时代. [EB/OL].（2001-12-19可有可无）[2002-04-15]. http://www.creader.com/news/200112190019.htm.

Electronic literature carrier type identifier

Magnetic Tape (MT); Disk (DK); Compact Disc (CD); Online (OL).

Literature type marker

Monograph (M); Conference Proceedings, Proceedings (C); Collection (G); Newspaper (N); Journal (J); Dissertation (D); Report (R); Standard (S); Patent (P); Database (DB); Computer Program (CP); Electronic Bulletin (EB). Proceedings encompass collections from symposiums, seminars, academic annual meetings, and similar gatherings. Collection, which may consist of conference proceedings by multiple or individual authors, can also be designated with the “M”.

Literature edition

It is denoted by an Arabic numeral followed by “Edition,” e.g., “2nd Edition”.

Examples:

第三版或第3版→3版；Fifth edition → 5th ed.

Additional provisions

This journal is included in databases and websites such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data–Digital Journal Platform, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database, Chinese Science and Technology Papers and Citation Database, CSCD (Chinese Science Citation Database), PubScholar, Chemical Abstracts (CA), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST); EBSCO, etc. (including but not limited to the above databases or websites, as well as those currently or future in cooperation). Once accepted for publication, the manuscript will be included in these databases and websites simultaneously. Authors who disagree with this must declare their objection to the journal at the time of submission; otherwise, consent to inclusion will be deemed consent.

Commonly used units of measurement and standardization guidelines

Units of measurement symbols

Square kilometer (km²); hectares (hm²); square meter (m²); kilometer (km); meter (m); centimeter (cm); millimeter (mm); micrometer (μm); liter (L); milliliter (ml); microliter (μl); kilogram (kg); gram (g); milligram (mg); microgram (μg); second (s); minute (min); hour (h); day (d); year (a); molar concentration (mol/L); rotational speed (r/min); atomic mass (u); hertz (Hz); kilovolt (kV); international unit (IU).

Commonly obsolete unit symbols: Dalton (D); molar concentration (M); normality (N); rotational speed (rpm).

Numeral usage

a. Centuries, decades, years, months, days, and times should be expressed using Arabic numerals, and years must be written in full.

b. Arabic numerals should be used for all numbers preceding units of measurement and counting, including single-digit numbers from 0 to 9.

c. Ordinal numbers and numbering should be expressed in Arabic numerals.

d. Multi-digit Arabic numerals should not be split across lines.

e. Thousand separator space of numbers.

Mathematical formulas

a. Important formulas and long equations should be centered, while simple and narrative expressions should be typeset inline.

b. In mathematical formulas, operational symbols, abbreviations, and special function symbols should be in roman type, while functions denoted by letters and general functions should be in italic type. Additionally, variables should be in italicized single letters.