Notice: Welcome to Species Diversity
This is the official website of Species Diversity. Thank you for considering the journal for the publication of your research. Please browse the site and contact us with any questions.
(Spec. Divers.) ISSN 1342-1670 (Print); ISSN 2189-7301 (Online)
A Peer-reviewed, Open-access Journal for Taxonomy, Systematics, Biogeography, Speciation, and Life History Research of Animals
Indexed: DOAJ, Scopus, Zoological Record and EBSCOhost (selected databases); preserved in Portico
Aims and Scope
Species Diversity is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology (JSSZ). The journal aims to advance zoological systematics and biodiversity science by publishing high-quality research that adheres to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). The journal publishes original research on animal taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, and biodiversity, with primary focus on the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine fauna of Japan, East Asia, and surrounding regions.
Contributions on faunal diversity from all parts of the world are welcome. The journal publishes comprehensive taxonomic revisions, species descriptions, phylogenetic studies, biodiversity assessments, short communications, reviews, and nomenclatural notes covering all animal groups. Morphological, molecular, and integrative systematic approaches are encouraged. For details on article types, please see "Notice to Contributors".
Issues / Online First
All issues of Species Diversity are available on J-STAGE.
Newly accepted manuscripts are published online as Online First.
Browse all issues on J-STAGE: online on J-STAGE
jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/specdiv/
Articles in Volumes 17–22 are also available at PierOnline (https://www.pieronline.jp/content/serial/1342-1670)
Peer Review Process, Editing and Publication
Please see the "Ethics and Disclosures" page.
Connect
Posts as "Species_Divers" @ X (Formerly Twitter)
Publisher and History
Species Diversity is published by the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology (JSSZ) [Official Website on Google site]. Founded in 1996, it serves as the English-language successor to the Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology (ISSN 0287-0223, 1965–1996), which published articles in both English and Japanese. The Japanese-language component continues as the biannual journal, TAXA, Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology (ISSN 1342-2367; hereafter, TAXA ). For details on the journal's publication history and format, please see "Journal History and Publication Format" below.
The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology
E-mail: jssz@jssz.sakura.ne.jp
The JSSZ official society website is hosted on Google Sites. To ensure global accessibility, particularly for researchers in regions where Google services are restricted, the web page on this journal's website of Species Diversity provides the essential information about the society page. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or inquiries regarding the society.
Publication Platform
Accepted manuscripts are published online shortly on J-STAGE after acceptance under a CC BY 4.0 license. J-STAGE Overview
Contents
• Aims and Scope
• Issues / Online First
• Peer Review Process, Editing and Publication
• Connect: Posts as "Species_Divers" @ X (Formerly Twitter)
• Publisher and History
• The JSSZ official society website
• Publication Platform
• Editor-in-Chief
• Editorial Board
• Editorial Committee (2024–2026)
- Managing Editor
- Associate Editors (Subject Editors)
• Editorial Consultant
• ABS Advisory Editor
1. Ethical Standards and Editorial Integrity
2. Misconduct, Authorship, and Editorial Conduct
3. Research Ethics and Legal Compliance
4. Publication, Copyright, and Conflict of Interest
5. Privacy Statement 6. Data and Supporting Materials
• The Article Processing Charge (APC) and Other Charges
• Submission of Manuscripts
• Manuscript submission address
• Data Sharing Policy
• Style of Manuscripts
• Checklist
• Zoobank Registration
• Proofs and Offprints
• PDF file: Notice to Contributors
End-of-Article Sections Format
• Notice about Copyright
• Self-Archiving Policy
• Permission to Reproduce Materials Published in Species Diversity
• Transfer of Copyright
• Purchase Back Numbers of JSSZ Journals
Journal History and Publication Format
In order to facilitate prompt publication, with Vol. 5 in 2000, Species Diversity switched from publishing physical issues twice a year to four times each year. With Vol. 17 in 2012, the publishing schedule for physical issues (increased in size from A5 to A4 format) reverted to twice a year, with strict adherence then and subsequently to the target dates of May 25 and November 25. A more significant change that year was the introduction of an online-first model for electronic publication.
The ability, over the past 10 years, to publish articles online quickly while also strictly adhering to a twice-a-year schedule for physical issues is the result of the efforts of a strong editorial board comprising experts, as well as quick attention to the many editorial tasks involved.
In order to reduce the financial burden on JSSZ and in recognition of the growing importance of electronic publication, it was decided in 2022 to publish a single combined physical issue of Species Diversity on November 25 each year while still strictly observing the publication dates of May 25 and November 25 (see printed issues) for the virtual issues.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Tomomi Saito, Professor: Usa Marine Biological Institute, Kochi University, 194 Inoshiri, Usa-cho, Tosa, Kochi 781-1164, Japan
Details in the "Editorial Board and Staff"
Copyright and Permissions
Notice about Copyright
From Volume 28 Issue No. 2, in which the first article was published on 25th July 2023, all articles of Species Diversity are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium of format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source. The contents of the articles are licensed under the CC BY 4.0, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the articles' CC BY 4.0 and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you or your organization will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
All articles published in Volume 1 in 1996 to Volume 28 Issue No. 1, of which the last work was published on 25th May 2023, are archived for free access in J-Stage (jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/specdiv/). The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology reserves all rights of the works in Volume 1 to Volume 28, Issue No. 1, under copyright law.
In order to photocopy any work from Volume 1 to Volume 28, Issue No. 1, of Species Diversity, therefore, you or your organization must obtain permission from the following organization, which has been delegated for copyright clearance by the copyright owner of this journal.
Except in the USA
Japan Academic Association for Copyright Clearance, Inc. (JAACC) 6-41 Akasaka 9-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan
Phone: +81-3-3475-5618; Fax: +81-3-3475-5619
E-mail: jaacc@mtd.biglobe.ne.jp
In the USA
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC)
222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA
Phone: +1-978-750-8400; Fax: +1-978-646-8600
Self-Archiving Policy
After publication, authors may distribute all versions of their articles [submitted version, accepted version (= Author Accepted Manuscript), and published version (= Version of Record)] via institutional repositories or personal websites without application for permission to the Society.
For submitted and accepted versions, authors must explicitly state the version type, and also indicate a link to the Version of Record of the article.
Request for permission to reproduce materials published in Species Diversity
Please fill out the Application (MS Word docx file) and send it to the Editor-in-Chief of Species Diversity.
Professor Tomomi Saito ( species_diversity@jssz.sakura.ne.jp )
Transfer of Copyright in connection with electronic archiving
Transfer of Copyright in Connection with Electronic Archiving of Circular, Report of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, Species Diversity, and TAXA
29 January 2010
The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology (hereafter, our Society), beginning with the first issue in 1951, has published a journal (hereafter, our Journal) under various titles, viz., Circular, Report of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, Proceeding of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, Species Diversity, and TAXA. Our Society expresses its gratitude for the support and cooperation of its members, who have enabled our Journal to flourish for 60 long years.
The National Institute of Informatics (NII) has chosen our Journal to be preserved in its Electronic Archives. This will include the full contents of every issue of every volume of our Journal. This means that every page of our Journal will be digitized and published on the website of the NII. In order to do this, it is necessary that our Society owns the copyright to all the papers in our Journal, since everything will be published on the public server of the NII.
Therefore, in accordance with the Copyright Law, it is necessary that all authors consent to transfer their copyright ownership to our Society.
In the September 30, 2008, revision of the Notice to Contributors (Species Diversity 13[2-3]), it was established that the copyright to all papers published in our Journal accrues to our Society. However, copyright ownership was never made clear for papers published before this date.
Consequently, we are requesting all authors who published in our Journal before September 30, 2008, to transfer their copyright ownership to our Society.
Authors who do not agree to this copyright transfer, or who have questions about the transfer, are requested to contact the Main Office of our Society in writing or by e-mail before December 31, 2010. Our Society assumes that all interested parties will see and read this message. However, in the event that the message is not seen until after the cutoff date, our Society is prepared to negotiate any problems on an individual basis. If by the cutoff date no particular protest or request for negotiation is received, our Society will assume that the interested parties have granted our request for transfer of copyright ownership, and will proceed with the publication of the entire contents of our Journal in the NII, as set out above.
The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology
Purchase back numbers of JSSZ journals
Back numbers of JSSZ journals: Please see the "Contact us" section.
Copyright: © 2026 The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology