About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Belgian Journal of Zoology is a diamond open access journal publishing high-quality research papers in English that are original, of broad interest and hypothesis-driven. Manuscripts on all aspects of zoology are considered, including anatomy, behaviour, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, genomics and physiology. Manuscripts on veterinary, agricultural or aquacultural topics or on human medicine are outside of the journal’s scope. The Belgian Journal of Zoology also welcomes reviews, especially from complex or poorly understood research fields in zoology. The Belgian Journal of Zoology does no longer publish purely taxonomic papers. Surveys and reports on novel or invasive animal species for Belgium are considered only if sufficient new biological or biogeographic information is included.

All published papers and short notes in the Belgian Journal of Zoology are made available through this journal website. All manuscripts (including short notes) are peer reviewed by at least two referees and should be sent electronically to the editorial office at bjz@naturalsciences.be. Please always check the Author Guidelines before submitting. The Belgian Journal of Zoology is published online only from 2017 onwards in one volume. A print-on-demand version can be purchased from the editorial office.

The archive of the Belgian Journal of Zoology is available as PDF files from http://rbzs.be (2014-2016). The volumes from 1863 to 1922 are available on the platform of the Biodiversity Heritage Library under the former names of the journal:

Annales de la Société royale malacologique de Belgique (1863-1902), from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/6205 and https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/7031.

Annales de la Société royale zoologique et malacologie de Belgique (1903-1921): https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/6301

Annales de la Société royale zoologique de Belgique (only  for 1922): https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/16350

Peer Review Process

Each submitted paper or short note will be sent to a scientific editor, who will forward it to two referees. The author(s) will be informed of the editorial decision after the reviewing process.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate diamond open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Research

The Belgian Journal of Zoology accepts papers presenting original research through submission via e-mail.

Copyright statement

The Belgian Journal of Zoology is a diamond open source journal that wishes to distribute its papers as widely as possible without additional costs for any user. No fees for submitting are required.

All published papers will be put on-line as high resolution PDF’s. Copyright thus remains with the authors. All manuscripts will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Sponsors

The Belgian Journal of Zoology is published with the financial support of the “Direction générale de l’Enseignement supérieur de la Recherche scientifique” and of the “Universitaire Stichting van België/Fondation universitaire de Belgique”.

Journal History

The Royal Zoological Society of Belgium and its Belgian Journal of Zoology continue in a long scientific tradition devoted to the promotion of zoology and to the publication of research in zoology. This tradition goes back to 1863, when the “Société malacologique de Belgique” was founded in Brussels and began to publish the Annales de la Société malacologique de Belgique. Name changes took place in 1903 (Annales de la Société royale malacologique et zoologique de Belgique) and 1923 (Annales de la Société royale zoologique de Belgique). With the internationalisation of the editorial board in 1989, the journal was opened to the international scientific community, and the name “Belgian Journal of Zoology” was chosen. From 2010 onwards the Bulletins of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences – Entomology/Biology have partly merged with the Belgian Journal of Zoology and partly with the European Journal of Taxonomy. The Belgian Journal of Zoology is now available online starting volume 147.

The archive of the Belgian Journal of Zoology is available as PDF files from http://rbzs.be (2014-2016).