Contributors are asked to follow these instructions closely. Failure to comply will cause delay and may lead to the return of the manuscript.
All papers should be written in clear, concise English. Much material appropriate in doctoral theses is unacceptable for publication. Papers are considered on the understanding that their substance is not already published or offered for publication elsewhere.
Two copies of the manuscript should be submitted, typed double-spaced throughout (including references, tables and legends).
The format of the manuscript should be as follows:
Page 1: title and authors' names in capitals; address(es) in italics or underlined; a suggested short running head, in capitals.
Page 2: an abstract.
Page 3 et seq.: main text; followed by references, figure captions and tables on separate sheets.
Indicate the approximate position of each figure and table in the margin of the text. Number each page of the manuscript. Retain a copy of the complete manuscript.
Hierarchy of headings should not normally exceed two. Main headings are centred in capital letters without a concluding stop; subsidiary headings are on the left and should be in italics or underlined. Do not number headings; avoid footnotes.
Underline or italicise the names of genera, subgenera and species, but not those of higher taxa. Specific names should include the authority on first mention. Descriptions of new taxa and taxonomic revisions must comply with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Systematic descriptions should follow the following format:
i. Genera and species headings in bold and centred.
ii. 'new genus' or 'new species' used after new taxa, not in bold.
iii. Subsidiary headings in italics to left: text continuing on same line, but separate paragraphs by blank line:
Types: ......
Anatomy (Figs ): .......
References in the text should take one of the following forms: 'Nisbet (1973) said ....' or '.... (Nisbet, 1973) ....' or '.... (Merdsoy & Farley, 1973; Nisbet, 1973; Anderson, 1980) .....' Avoid loc cit.. The first time a paper with multiple authorship is referred to, give all the authors' names; thereafter use the form X et al.. References are listed alphabetically; the styles of entry to be used are:
ANSELL, A. D. & TREVAILLION, A. 1970. Brood protection in the stenoglossan gastropod Bullia melanoides (Deshayes). Journal of Natural History, 4: 369-374.
DUNCAN, C. J. 1975. Reproduction. In: Pulmonates (V. Fretter & J. F. Peake, eds), 1: 309-365. Academic Press, London.
ELLIS, A. E. 1926. British snails. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
NISBET, R. H. 1973. The role of the buccal mass in the trochid. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 40: 435-468.
RUNNEGAR, B. & POJETA, J. 1985. Origin and diversification of the Mollusca. In: The Mollusca, l0: Evolution (E. R. Trueman & M. R. Clarke, eds), 1-57. Academic Press, London.
THORSON, G. 1958. Parallel level bottom communities, their temperature adaptation, and their "balance" between predators and food animals. In: Perspectives in marine biology (A. A. Buzzati-Traverso, ed.), 67-86. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Journal titles are cited in full. Print the volume number in bold or underline in wavy. Repeat authors' names and journal titles in multiple entries and avoid ibid.
Tables should be typed, each on a separate sheet, numbered with Arabic numerals and with the title at the top of the page. Where reference to a table appears in the text, the word 'Table' should appear in full.
Illustrations may be either drawings or photographs. The former should be in black ink on good quality card, drawing film or tracing paper. Photographs should be glossy prints.
If illustrations are to be grouped they should be mounted accordingly. All illustrations should be NUMBERED IN A SINGLE SERIES. Each must carry a scale line and not magnifications in the figure captions.
The page size available is 198 x 135 mm with the text set in two columns each 65 mm wide. Illustrations should be prepared so that they fit into a single column or across the breadth of the page.
Lettering should be added by the author. A final lettering size (after reduction of the drawing) of 1.5- 2 mm is desirable. Each component of a composite figure should be given a capital letter; labels and abbreviations should be in lower-case letters.
Captions for figures should be grouped together in sequence and placed at the end of the paper. The caption format for composite figures should be, for example:
Figure 1. Littorina littorea. A. Pallial oviduct; scale bar = 2.0 mm. B. Penis; scale bar = 1. mm. Abbreviations: a, albumen gland; b, bursa; sg, sperm groove.
Photocopies or photographs of all illustrations should be sent in addition to the originals.
The text of the paper must be ready for publication when submitted. One set of proofs will be sent; it is assumed that only printer's errors and factual mistakes will be corrected. More extensive alterations will be charged to the author.
Contributors will receive 50 free offprints, additional copies may be purchased.
Manuscripts submitted for this section of the Journal should be no longer than six typed (double-spaced) pages and written Nature style. Normally there should be no headings and no abstract; acknowledgements should be brief. The title should be in lower-case letters in bold, the author's name in lower case and the address in italics. References in the text should be cited only by a superscript number, and listed at the end of the paper in the order they appear in the text. References are abbreviated. i.e. titles of papers omitted, names of journals abbreviated in standard form of World List of Scientific Periodicals. For example: 1. Stasek, C. R. 1967. Occ. Pap. Calif. Acad. Sci., 61: 1-44.
2. Morton, B. 1981. Sarsia, 66: 241-256.