Instructions to authors 



Taxonomy Names of animals and the description of new genera or 

 species must follow the current version of the International Code 

 of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, available at 

 http://www.iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp). Type specimens should be de- 

 posited in recognised institutions; deposition at ZFMK is highly ap- 

 preciated. Italics are required for species names which are written 

 in full the first time they appear in the text, e.g. Carassius auratus 

 (Linnaeus, 1758), but abbreviated at subsequent mention, e.g. C. au- 

 ratus. List names in synonymies as follows: Attelabus asparagi 

 Scopoli, 1763 (Scopoli 1763: 36, fig. 113.), and list the source un- 

 der References. Dichotomous keys are desirable in taxonomic pa- 

 pers. 



Statistics Statistics presented should include the name of the test, 

 number of observations or degree of freedom, and probability lev- 

 el (P > 0.05, P < 0.05, P > 0.001, P < 0.001). Values of test statis- 

 tics are not required. 



Scientific Notes 



Notes should comply with the instructions given above, but have to 

 be ( 1 ) confined to a single point or issue of progress, (2) must be 

 short (typically no more than 3 printed pages including illustrations 

 and references), and (3) do not include headings or subheadings. A 

 brief abstract of no more than three lines is required. 



Review papers 



Reviews should be concise, critical and creative, seeking to sum- 

 marize the state-of-the-art of complex topics, and stimulate debates 

 and new research initiatives. Review papers should comply with the 

 instructions for preparation of Research articles, with the exception 

 that the main body of text may be structured as appropriate. 



Electronic submission 



Manuscripts should be submitted as text files (*.doc or *.rtf; *.pdf 

 is welcome for the review process, but for production *.doc or *.rtf 

 will be required) via e-mail (bzb.zfmk@uni-bonn.de) to the editor- 

 in-chief. Alternatively, send a CD. If neither is possible for any rea- 

 son, please contact the editor-in-chief. The file name must start with 

 the submitting author's last name. 



Ethical and legal aspects 



Authors are obliged to state clearly that they followed the legal reg- 

 ulations and laws for the collection and ethical treatment of animals. 



Publication and reprints 



Manuscripts will be published online after acceptance as preprint 

 version, which will be replaced by the final pdf after publication of 

 the printed issue of BZB. The corresponding author must clearly state 

 so if preprint online publication of is not desired. In that case, on- 

 ly title, authors and the information that this manuscript has been 

 accepted for publication will be made available at that stage. Im- 

 mediately after publication, the corresponding author will receive 

 an e-mail containing the final pdf. On request (see order form sub- 

 mitted with page proofs), 25 reprints are supplied free of charge. 

 Additional reprints may be purchased on the author's expense. 



Questions we ask our reviewers 



Authors preparing manuscripts for BZB should keep in mind the fol- 

 lowing questions which referees for the journal are asked: 



1. Is the paper of interest to the readers of BZB? 



2. How well does it meet the focus of BZB? 



3. Is it acceptable for publication, or should it be reconsidered af- 

 ter revision? 



3. Please grade originality, quality of data, quality of statistical analy- 

 ses, and quality of interpretation on a scale from 1 = low to 5 = 

 high. 



4. Please grade clarity and quality of text, figures and tables from 

 1 = low to 5 = high. 



5. Has the welfare of any experimental animals been adequately tak- 

 en into account? 



6. Does the title aptly and correctly describe the paper? 



7. Does the abstract summarize only the significant findings? 



8. Is the length of the paper appropriate? 



9. Are all (colour) figures and tables necessary and appropriate? 



Review process 



Each manuscript will be peer-reviewed, generally by two or more 

 referees. Manuscripts should be submitted to the editor-in-chief, and 

 will be handled by the editor dealing with the respective taxon or 

 topic (see list of editors). Authors are encouraged to suggest poten- 

 tial referees for their manuscripts. Final acceptance for publication 

 is in the responsibility of the editor-in-chief. This decision is main- 

 ly based on the referees' report and the handling editor's recommen- 

 dation. Revised manuscripts received more than 6 months after the 

 reviewers' comments had been sent will be treated as new submis- 

 sions. 



