Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors should consult the Article Types page, and follow the guidelines listed below, noting that items 7 and 8 include components and formatting not required for the initial submission.

1.  Manuscripts should be accompanied by a brief cover letter summarizing the main points of the article and stating if the manuscript has been made available on a preprint service. 

2.  Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with 12 point font and line numbers that are continuous from the first page to the last. Do not use numbered or bulleted lists, italics, bold, or underlining for emphasis.

3.  The first page of the manuscript file is a title page that includes the following information:

   •  the title of the article, authors and affiliations;

   •  contact information (including email address) for the corresponding author;

   •  indication of article type (Report, Note, or Letter);

4.  The overall length of the manuscript as well as the sections and items included will depend on the manuscript type (see Article Types), but in general will be ordered as follows: title page, abstract, main text, statement on data accessibility, acknowledgements, author contributions, ethics statement, literature cited, tables, figure legends, and figures.

5.  The statement on author contributions, for multi-authored papers, should follow the CRediT system: https://credit.niso.org/.

6. Authors must include a brief statement on ethical standards and competing interests describing any relevant permits, approvals, permissions, conflicts of interest, and compliance with applicable laws and professional standards. Where formal permits or approvals were not required, authors should state this explicitly. For work in foreign countries, we encourage authors to comment on their coordination and cooperation with persons in the relevant country. The purpose of this statement is to acknowledge competing interests while ensuring transparency and responsible research conduct across diverse study types and jurisdictions.

   Example: "Ethical standards and competing interests: Field observations were conducted in accordance with applicable local regulations. No specimen collection was performed. Access to museum specimens was granted by the holding institutions. No permits or institutional approvals were required for this work, and the authors declare no competing interests."

7. Accepted manuscripts will have abstracts and conservation statements in both English and a language relevant to the geography of the species being discussed. For the first submission, an abstract in English is sufficient but we encourage authors to visit our Accessibility page for more details on translation.

8.  For initial submission, references can be formatted in any style as long as in-text citations are written out (not numbered), and final submission for accepted manuscripts will follow style guidelines and examples provided below.

Use of Scientific Names

• Scientific names should follow standard taxonomic conventions and be used consistently throughout the manuscript.
• Binomial and trinomial names must be italicized (e.g., Euphydryas editha, Lycaeides melissa melissa).
• Genus name should be spelled out in full at first mention in the title, abstract, and main text.
• After first use, the genus may be abbreviated (e.g., E. editha) if unambiguous.
• Include the taxonomic authority (with year when appropriate) at the first mention of each species in the main text (e.g., Euphydryas editha Boisduval, 1852). Authorities are not required in the title or abstract. Do not italicize the authority name (see below for more information and examples).
• If citing a taxonomic revision, follow the authority recommended by the most recent or widely accepted taxonomic source.
• Common names may be used after the first mention of the scientific name but should be lowercase unless a proper noun (e.g., "sand dune blue butterfly" vs. “Melissa blue butterfly”).
• Higher taxonomic ranks (family, order, class) are capitalized but not italicized (e.g., Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae).
• For extinct, lost, or rediscovered species, include any relevant taxonomic notes, synonyms, or historical names where needed for clarity.

Citing taxonomic authorities

Taxonomic authorities should be included at the first mention of a taxon in the main text (not in the title or abstract), and are required in Reports and Notes. The use of authorities in Letters will be dependent on the goals of the paper and up to the discretion of authors and editors. Also, taxonomic authorities need not be provided for species that are not the focal taxa within an article.

The Journal of Lost Species (JLS) permits the use of discipline-specific conventions for citing taxonomic authorities. Because conventions differ in meaningful ways between disciplines (e.g., zoology and botany), authors should follow the conventions appropriate to their study system while maintaining consistency within a manuscript.

See below for examples of how taxonomic authorities should be cited, and see here for additional information and discussion.

Zoology

• Danaus plexippus Linnaeus, 1758
• Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Callophrys sheridanii sacramento Scott, 2006
• Cobitis kellei Erk’akan, Atalay-Ekmekçi & Nalbant, 1998

Botany

• Quercus agrifolia Née
• Cryptantha insolita (J.F. Macbr.) Payson
• Atriplex canescens var. gigantea (Wooton) Welsh

General citation style, overview

• Use an author–date citation style.
• In-text citations follow the format (Author Year) or Author (Year).
• The reference list includes only works cited in the text.
• Arrange references alphabetically by first author and chronologically within author.
• Use full journal names, not abbreviations.
• Use sentence case for article titles (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns) and title case for books (every major word capitalized).
• Name particles (e.g., von, van, van der, de, di, du, del, la, al-) are treated as part of the surname for alphabetization and appear in full in the reference list.  For example: (e.g., de Silva and Aponso 2018; von Elden 2019).
• For a discussion on how to cite IUCN Red List and Red Data Book sources, see here.
• For a discussion on citing governmental agencies and the US Federal Register, see here.
• Citing personal communications is allowed, and should adhere to this format: (J.D. Black, pers. comm. 2004), and the inclusion of year is optional.

In-Text Citations

• Single author: (Wilson 2016).
• Two authors: (Smith and Jones 2020).
• More than two authors: (Carroll et al. 2021).
• Multiple citations: Separate with semicolons and order alphabetically: (Carroll et al. 2021; Smith and Jones 2020; Wilson 2016).
• Citing multiple works by the same author and year, distinguish using letters: (Jones 2019a, 2019b).
• Citing specific pages or sections: (Wilson 2016, p. 45), (Smith and Jones 2020, pp. 112–115).

Reference List Formatting, general formatting rules

• Authors: Last name, initials (no periods between initials except the final one).
• Year followed by a period.
• Journal titles italicized, volume numbers not in bold.
• Provide full page range (e.g., 112–120).
• References should include Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) whenever possible (see examples below).

Examples

Journal article

Smith JA, Brown RT, Jones PR. 2020. Rediscovery of the yellow-laced fritillary in coastal dunes. Journal of Insect Conservation 24(1): 112–120. doi:10.1111/j.1751-4588.2006.00005.x

Book

Wilson EO. 2016. Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life. W. W. Norton & Company, New York. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12345-6

Edited volume

Fox CW, Carroll SP, eds. 2008. Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action. Oxford University Press, Oxford. doi:10.1890/03-0588

Chapter in an edited volume

Carroll SP. 2008. Evolution in novel environments. Pages 95–112 in Carroll SP, Fox CW, eds. Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action. Oxford University Press, Oxford. doi:10.1860/01-0788

Online source with DOI

Jones PR, Smith SJ. 2023. Molecular signatures of rediscovered species. Molecular Ecology 32(3): 455–468. doi:10.1111/mec.16940

Online source without DOI (rare; avoid when possible)

Johnson A. 2018. Report on the last known sighting of Euphydryas editha. https://example.org/editha-report (accessed 12 November 2025).