INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS 
Manuscripts must be submitted to The Editor. All manuscripts are 
refereed externally. 
Only those manuscripts that meet the following requirements 
will be considered for publication. Large monographic works are 
considered for publication only when the subject matter aligns closely 
with the Museum's strategic objectives. 
Submit manuscripts electronically and as one printed copy; images 
should be high resolution TIFFs (see below). Attach one summary file 
or cover sheet giving: the title; the name, address and contact details 
of each author; the author responsible for checking proofs; a suggested 
running-head of less than 40 character-spaces; and the number of 
figures, tables and appendices. Manuscripts must be complete when 
submitted. 
Text files, tables and charts should be in Rich Text Format (RTF). 
Tables and figures should be numbered and referred to in numerical 
order in the text. Electronic copy is stripped and reconstructed 
during production, so authors should avoid excessive layout or textual 
embellishments; a single font should be used throughout; avoid using 
uncommon fonts. 
All copy is manipulated within a Windows (not Mac) environ¬ 
ment using Microsoft and Adobe software. The submitted printed 
copy of the manuscript should be derived directly from the electronic 
file that accompanies it. 
Manuscripts should be prepared using recent issues as a guide. There 
should be a title (series titles should not be used), author(s) with their 
institutional addresses, an abstract (should be intelligible by itself, 
informative not indicative), introduction (should open with a few lines 
for general, non-specialist readers), materials and methods, results 
(usually subdivided with primary, secondary and rarely tertiary-level 
headings), discussion, acknowledgments and references. If appropriate, 
an appendix may be added after references. 
In the titles of zoological works the higher classification of 
the group dealt with should be indicated. Except for common 
abbreviations, definitions should be given in the materials and 
methods section. Sentences should not begin with abbreviations or 
numerals. Metric units must be used except when citing original 
specimen data. It is desirable to include geo-spatial coordinates; 
when reference is made to them, authors must ensure that their 
format precludes ambiguity, in particular, avoid formats that confuse 
arcminutes and arcseconds. 
Label and specimen data should, as a minimum requirement, 
indicate where specimens are deposited. Original specimen data— 
especially that of type material—is preferred over interpreted data. 
If open to interpretation, cite original data between quotation marks 
or use “[sic]”. 
Rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature must 
be followed; authors must put a very strong case if a Recommend¬ 
ation is not followed. When new taxa are proposed in works having 
multiple authors, the identity of the author(s) responsible for the 
new name(s) and for satisfying the criteria of availability, should be 
made clear in accordance with Recommendations in Chapter XI of 
the Code. A scientific name with more than two authors is unwieldy 
and should be avoided. Keys are desirable; they must be dichotomous 
and not serially indented. Synonymies should be of the short form: 
taxon author, year, pages and figures. A period and en-dash must 
separate taxon and author except in the case of reference to the original 
description. Proposed type material should be explicitly designated 
and, unless institutional procedure prohibits it, registered by number 
in an institutional collection. 
Previously published illustrations will generally not be accepted. 
Extra costs resulting from colour production are charged to the 
author (AU$1000 for 1-8 pp, AU$2000 for 9-16 pp, etc.; these 
charges can be shared by authors of different papers that are printed 
consecutively). All images must (a) be rectangular or square and 
scalable to a width of 83 mm (one text column) or 172 mm (both 
text columns including gutter) and any depth up to 229 mm (the 
number of lines in a caption limits depth); ( b ) have lettering similar 
to 14 point, upper case, normal, Helvetica, in final print; (c) have no 
unnecessary white or black space; and ( d) have vertical or horizontal 
scale bars, with the lengths given in the caption and with the 
thickness approximately equal to an upper case 14 point letter "I". 
Digital images must be presented as TIFF, or as multilayered 
PSD files suitable for Adobe Photoshop version 5.0 or later. Halftone 
and colour images must be at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi at 
final size (at this resolution 2040 pixels = printed-page width) and 
all labelling must be sharp (with anti-aliased active). Black and white 
line images (bitmaps) must be at a minimum resolution of 1200 dpi 
at final size (at this resolution, 8160 pixels = page width = 172 mm). 
When reference is made to figures in the present work use Fig. or 
Figs, when in another work use fig. or figs; the same case-rule applies 
to the words tables and plates. Figures and tables should be numbered 
and referred to in numerical order in the text. 
Authors should refer to recent issues of the Records of the Australian 
Museum to determine the correct format for listing references and 
to The Chicago Manual of Style to resolve other matters of style. 
Insert hyperlinks in the Reference section if they are known—use 
digital object identifiers (doi) if available (see www.doi.org and www. 
crossref.org). 
Certain anthropological manuscripts (both text and images) 
may deal with culturally sensitive material. Responsibility rests 
with authors to ensure that approvals from the appropriate person or 
persons have been obtained prior to submission of the manuscript. 
Stratigraphic practice should follow the International Stratigraphic 
Guide (second edition) and Field Geologist's Guide to Lithostratigraphic 
Nomenclature in Australia. 
The Editor and Publisher reserve the right to modify manuscripts to 
improve communication between author and reader. Essential corrections 
only may be made to final proofs. No corrections can be accepted less than 
four weeks prior to publication without cost to the author(s). All proofs 
should be returned as soon as possible. Fifty reprints may be ordered, the 
fee is AU$10.00 times the number of printed pages. 
All authors, or the Corresponding Author on their behalf, must 
sign a Licence to Publish when a manuscript is submitted, and certify 
that the research described has adhered to the Australian Museum’s 
Guidelines for Research Practice —or those of their home institution 
providing they cover the same issues, especially with respect to 
authorship and acknowledgment. While under consideration, a 
manuscript may not be submitted elsewhere. 
More information and examples are available at our website: 
http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au 
25 November 2009 
Stock no. 009R61B 
