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Prepare your manuscript for Historical Biology.

Review the checklist, choose your article type, and turn your draft into a cleaner submission package.

Checked 2026-08-01
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Lectio
Editorial
Letter
Brief Report
Research Article
Review Article
Book Review
Data Note
Commentary
Registered Report
Protocol
Clinical Trial
Systematic Review

Readiness requirements

Review the key details below, or download the complete checklist with every stored source-backed requirement.

Abstract length

  • Use a structured abstract.
  • While the abstract is unstructured, it should include: your research question/aim, what you did, your major results, and primary interpretations.
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  • Review: While the abstract is unstructured, it should include: the topic your review covers, major overview of your synthesis, and what your synthesis has added to the field.
  • While the abstract is unstructured, it should include: the clade your taxonomic note covers, and the major findings of your contribution.
  • The abstract structure should be as follows: Introduction, Methods, Data Description.
  • The abstract structure should be as follows: Introduction, Methods, Method Description.
  • Your abstract should focus on what your research is about, what methods have been used, and what you found out.
  • The instructions for authors for each journal will give specific guidelines on what’s required here, including whether it should be a structured abstract or graphical abstract, and any word limits.

Keywords

  • Provide 3-6 keywords chosen by the author.
  • Please add between 3 and 6 keywords.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references to the journal's stored style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • Research Article: Manuscripts intended as Research Articles should not normally exceed 90 manuscript pages (= double-spaced typescript at A4 page size), including references, tables, and appendices which are intended to accompany the MS (i.e. not supplementary online material).
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  • This should include the hyperlink, DOI or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s).
  • Note, the authority must be included in the References.
  • Authors using MorphoBank must deposit their data prior to submission and provide the MorphoBank Project ID (P###) and DOI ( https://doi.org/10.7934/P### ) in the Data Availability Statement.
  • Upon article publication, the project must be made publicly accessible and the DOI or stable URL included in the final article.
  • If you reply yes, you will be required to provide the DOI, pre-registered DOI, hyperlink, or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s).
  • The phylogenetic data matrix must be provided as either a supplementary file or in a public repository that gives a DOI (such as MorphoBank) in either. tnt or. nex format.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the whole content, including accuracy of references.
  • Even if following previously published protocols, you must describe the methodology in full, citing the relevant reference(s).
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: The reference for the most recent version of the data matrix (if the matrix is not newly constructed).
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: The name and version of the software used to perform the phylogenetic analysis (including a citation to the software).

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript. Keep figures embedded; Articlo also extracts numbered source files for the package.
  • Group figures at the end of the manuscript.
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  • Group tables at the end of the manuscript.
  • If more than 26 component parts are present in a figure, use A', B', C', etc. The lettering should be in a standard sans serif font, such as Helvetica.
  • All figures should be formatted for double- or single column widths of 173 or 82 mm respectively, with a maximum page height of 232 mm.
  • All figures must be numbered in the order in which they appear in the manuscript (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2).
  • In multi-part figures, each part should be labelled (e.g. Figure 1A, Figure 1B).
  • The filename for a graphic should be descriptive of the graphic, e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2A.
  • Tables and figures Show clearly in your article text where the tables and figures should appear, for example, by writing [Table 1 near here].
  • Figures should be saved separately from the text.
  • The page limit includes figures and tables, which cannot exceed three manuscript pages.
  • The page limit includes figures and tables, which cannot exceed four manuscript pages.
  • Figures should be designed to make good use of the space, ensuring that background space between component parts of a figure is minimized.
  • Space for the figure caption below the figure should be taken into account when planning the size of full-page figures.
  • Please provide the highest quality figure format possible.
  • Figure captions must be saved separately, as part of the file containing the complete text of the manuscript, and numbered correspondingly.
  • All abbreviations used in any figure should be listed in the caption accompanying that figure.
  • The flat image should conform to our standard requirements for figures.
  • You must ensure appropriate acknowledgement is given to the permission granted to you for reuse by the copyright holder in each figure or table caption.
  • It’s very important that you have been given permission to use any tables or figures you are reproducing from another source before you submit.
  • Figures must be saved separate to text.
  • Check the instructions for authors to see how you should supply tables and figures, whether at the end of the text or in separate files, and follow any guidance given on the submission system.
  • Please do not embed figures in the manuscript file.

Funding statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Funding statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • You should declare only the acquired funds and grants that are directly relevant to the work reported in your article; for example, This work was supported by the [Funding Agency #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

Competing interests

  • Include or confirm the competing interests required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Data availability statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Data availability statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Authors are required to provide a data availability statement (DAS), detailing where data associated with a paper can be found and how it can be accessed.
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  • If data cannot be made open, authors should state why in the data availability statement.
  • Authors are required to cite any data sets referenced in the article and provide a Data Availability Statement.

Ethics statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Ethics statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • All submissions must be accompanied by an Ethics Due Diligence Checklist which should be completed and uploaded using the file designation ‘Checklist’.

Cover letter

  • Letter: Provide the claims and editor-specific context for the cover letter; Articlo creates an editable companion without inventing content.
  • When re-using images, data, etc under a Creative Commons license, authors must ensure that they meet the requirements for use.
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  • Using Third-Party Material If you wish to include any material in your manuscript in which you do not hold copyright, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owner, prior to submission.

Supplementary files

  • Lectio: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Letter: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
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  • Review: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Protocol: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Data Note: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Editorial: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Commentary: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Brief Report: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Clinical Trial: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Review Article: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Research Article: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Registered Report: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Embed or attach the author-supplied supplementary material so Articlo can extract and label it for the package.

Title page and author information

  • All authors of a manuscript should include their full names and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript.
  • One author should be identified as the corresponding author, and their email address should also be included on the cover page.
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  • All persons who have a reasonable claim to authorship must be named in the manuscript as co-authors; the corresponding author must be authorized by all co-authors to act as an agent on their behalf in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript, and the order of names should be agreed by all authors.

Article structure and word limits

  • You may include a maximum of three 3D models per manuscript.
  • Margins Margins should be at least 2.5cm (1 inch).
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  • Authors intending to publish in Historical Biology via PCI RR should submit their manuscript to the journal only after a final positive Stage 2 recommendation from PCI RR.
  • Review: These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access.
  • Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
  • When using a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trademark, authors must use the symbol ® or TM.
  • Authors must not embed equations or image files within their manuscript.
  • Data must be deposited in a recognized data repository prior to or at the time of submission.
  • It should accurately describe what your manuscript covers.
  • For example, “A new species of Dakosaurus from Argentina”, should instead be “A new species of Dakosaurus (Thalattosuchia, Metriorhynchidae) from Argentina”.
  • Authors must follow the conventions of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS).
  • Letter: When a subdivision of time is formal, use a capital letter, when it is informal do not.
  • Nomenclature: authority and date must be provided for each species- and genus-group taxon at first mention.
  • All new zoological species, genera and family-group nomenclatural acts (=names) must follow the Code of the ICZN.
  • For algae, fungi, and plant names, the Madrid Code must be followed.
  • Datasets must be submitted to an online repository.
  • Opinion pieces should be written as a subjective contribution from one or more experts on a topic.
  • Research Article: If authors intend to conduct a replication and/or reproducibility analysis, this should be done formally as a Research Article submission.
  • Commentary: Comments on articles published in Historical Biology should be made as an Article Commentary submission.
  • The manuscript must include the URL to the reviews and recommendation at PCI RR.
  • Letter: Component parts should be labelled using letter suffixes, e.g. A, B, C.
  • You will also need to upload your LaTeX source files, which should be uploaded as a single zip file alongside your submission and marked as “LaTeX Source Files”.
  • Before you submit your article, make sure you’ve checked the instructions for authors for your chosen journal, so you are aware of everything required.
  • Most journals create image descriptions during the production process, but a minority may require authors to provide image descriptions.
  • Review: Running heads and received dates These aren’t required when submitting a manuscript for review.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Originality and accuracy of content has been confirmed by the authors.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.
  • Authors must retain the original and revised versions which must be shared upon request.
  • The PLSP guidelines for authors must be followed at all times.
  • Review: Historical Biology considers all manuscripts on the condition that: Any submitted manuscript must only be submitted to the Journal – i.e. your manuscript is not under consideration, or peer review, or accepted for publication / ‘in press’ / published elsewhere.
  • Specimens that are described, illustrated, and/or form the basis of a taxonomic act must be deposited in a recognised, publicly accessible repository at the time of manuscript submission.
  • Authors must also incorporate a Disclosure Statement which will acknowledge any financial interest or benefit they have arising from the direct applications of their research.
  • Authors must use SI units (non-italicized).
  • Brief Report: What cannot be submitted as a Brief Report article include: description of new species (or any new taxon), or the description of new methodologies and/or datasets or taxonomic notes (which have their own dedicated article types – see below).
  • Any new taxonomic names should be included.
  • Opinion pieces can include controversial and/or theoretical topics, but they must cover a topic that is both ethical and scientifically justifiable (i.e. stemming from theory or mathematics, with an existing evidence base, and the topic should be defined such that it is answerable through quantitative or qualitative research).
  • The file must be properly organized so that: inactive OTUs are already set as inactive; inactive characters are already deactivated; and ordered (additive) characters are correctly flagged.
  • The phylogenetic data matrix file(s) must be properly organised so that: inactive OTUs are already set as inactive; inactive characters are already deactivated; and ordered (additive) characters are correctly flagged.
  • Files should preferably be saved as TIFF (tagged image file format), or EPS (encapsulated PostScript) files (or JPEG files if necessary), and should contain all the necessary font information and the source file of the application (e.g. CorelDraw/Mac, CorelDraw/PC).
  • Please note that data should only be shared if it is ethically correct to do so, where this does not violate the protection of human subjects, or other valid ethical, privacy, or security concerns.
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: European accents (Greek, Hebrew, or Cyrillic letters, or phonetic symbols): choose Times New Roman font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: Asian languages (such as Sanskrit, Korean, Chinese, or Japanese): choose Arial Unicode font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Historical Biology considers all manuscripts on the condition that: Any submitted manuscript cannot be based wholly on specimens held in personal collections.
  • If the data cannot be made open, we recommend it is still preserved in a FAIR-compliant repository with appropriate access and controls in place.
  • If you are at the early stage of your research, you may also need to read how to start writing a journal manuscript.
  • Historical Biology considers all manuscripts on the condition that: Any submitted manuscript cannot contain statements/text/images that are abusive, defamatory, libellous, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.
  • Image descriptions are typically used by systems such as pronouncing screen readers to make images accessible to people that cannot read or see the object due to a visual disability.

Reporting guidelines

  • Include or confirm the reporting guidelines required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Preprints and prior publication

  • Letter: The submission must also be accompanied by a cover letter stating that the authors are submitting via the PCI RR track, including a URL to the recommended preprint, and confirming that the manuscript is identical to the recommended preprint.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

  • Add or confirm the author-written Artificial intelligence statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Please include a statement disclosing whether and how generative AI has been used in the research and manuscript preparation process.
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  • Use of AI tools as part of ethical research studies is permitted.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: The name and version number of the AI tool used.
  • Systematic Review: Use of AI tools as part of ethically conducted literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and bibliometrics studies is permitted.
  • Use of AI tool assisted plain language summaries (PLS) of authors own work is permitted.
  • Please read our guidance on using AI tools in your research and manuscript preparation to understand scenarios where their use may be permissible, and the required information that must be disclosed.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors have checked terms of use for the specific AI tool used, and therefore confirm suitability for publication.

Language and text style

  • Letter: Genera with the same initial letter should be distinguished using multi-letter abbreviations (see the recommendations set out in the codes of nomenclature).
  • Please avoid the use of euphemisms whenever possible – these do not always translate across language barriers (or even across the Anglosphere).
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  • Please use single quotation marks, except where ‘a quotation is “within” a quotation’.
  • Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fourth-level headings should be in bold italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fifth-level headings should be in italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Second-level headings should be in bold italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Third-level headings should be in italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  • Please do not start sentences with abbreviations.
  • If a genus is the first word in a sentence it is always spelled out (i.e. sentences cannot start with an abbreviation).
  • Please note that Academic English is a dialect of English, and that the majority of the scientific community do not have English as their first language.

Author contributions

  • You may be required to provide CRediT roles (contributor details) for yourself and your co-authors.

Article type and manuscript length

  • Data Note: Data Note articles should not exceed 20 manuscript pages (= double-spaced typescript at A4 page size), with a maximum word limit of 7000 words (including references).
  • Method articles should not exceed 20 manuscript pages (= double-spaced typescript at A4 page size), with a maximum word limit of 7000 words (including references).
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  • Registered Report: Authors taking advantage of the PCI RR track should submit their Stage 2 Registered Report using our Registered Reports article type.
  • Brief Report: Brief Report articles should not exceed 15–16 manuscript pages (= double-spaced typescript at A4 page size), with a maximum word limit of 5000 words (including references).
  • Taxonomic Note articles should not exceed 20 manuscript pages (= double-spaced typescript at A4 page size), with a maximum word limit of 7000 words (including references).
  • Given that in-depth reviews can be long and require a large number of figures, there is no word or figure limit for this article type.
  • Research Article: This article type does not allow for the datasets to be interpreted (this should be done in a Research Article), it is solely to allow authors to describe their data.
  • Registered Report: Submission must come via the new Registered Reports article type.
  • This article type must not be used for findings that should be referred to the Commission of the nomenclatural code your clade is covered by (e.g. for animals, such submissions should instead go to the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, as from there they will be reviewed by ICZN Commissioners).
  • Research Article: This article type does not allow for the methods or software to be interpreted (this should be done in a Research Article), it is solely to allow authors to describe their methods.
  • Please denote, in square brackets, in the main text the approximate position in which figures should be inserted, also including if the figure is intended to be single- or double width.
  • The manuscript main text should include the following sections, arranged in the following order (those with an asterisk * only if applicable): Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, Disclosure Statement, Funding, Data Availability Statement *, References, Figure Captions *, Table Captions *.
  • Review: The manuscript main text should include the following sections, arranged in the following order (those with an asterisk * only if applicable): Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Review, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, Disclosure Statement, Funding, Data Availability Statement *, References, Figure Captions *, Table Captions *.
  • The manuscript main text should include the following sections, arranged in the following order (those with an asterisk * only if applicable): Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Taxonomic overview, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, Disclosure Statement, Funding, Data Availability Statement*, References, Figure Captions *, Table Captions *.
  • The manuscript main text should include the following sections, arranged in the following order (those with an asterisk * only if applicable): Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Data Description, Acknowledgments, Disclosure Statement, Funding, Data Availability Statement, References, Figure Captions *, Table Captions *.
  • The manuscript main text should include the following sections, arranged in the following order (those with an asterisk * only if applicable): Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Method Description, Acknowledgments, Disclosure Statement, Funding, Data Availability Statement *, References, Figure Captions *, Table Captions *.
  • Brief Report: The Brief Report article type is intended for authors to report: preliminary findings, new observations of previously described specimens, and descriptions of isolated material that cannot be the basis of a new species.

Manuscript structure

  • Any methods that include data or code must be submitted to an online repository.
  • Please provide detailed methods in the Material and Methods section, rather than combining them with the results of the analysis.
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  • Authors are required to make the data and materials supporting the results or analyses presented in their paper freely available.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: First-level headings (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion) should be in bold, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  • Authors must retain full records of the methods undertaken, including full descriptions and records of the prompts used, which must be shared with the journal upon request.
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: A description of all modifications made to the original data matrix.
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: A complete list of all ordered (i.e., additive) characters.
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: The name of the OTU used to root the most parsimonious tree(s)/cladogram(s).
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: A detailed explanation of the analytical methods employed.
  • The Material and Methods section must include the following mandatory information: The final size of the phylogenetic data matrix, specifying the number of active characters and operational taxonomic units (OTUs).
  • Discussion article submissions that do not meet these criteria will not be accepted for publication.

Blinded manuscript

  • The PDF should be uploaded as the “Manuscript - with author details”/”Manuscript - anonymous” file.

Study reporting guidelines

  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable (e.g. CONSORT-AI, STARD-AI, GAMER, TRIPOD-AI, etc).
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What your package checks

Paper: 7,000 words
Keywords: 3-6 keywords
Declarations: Data availability, Funding, Ethics, Acknowledgements, Artificial intelligence
Format: Times New Roman, double spacing

Source transparency

This preparation guide uses published journal-specific author requirements. Journal instructions can change, so authors should complete a final review before submission.

Open official guideline source