Journal profile · Evolutionary Biology
AMERICAN NATURALIST
ISSN 0003-0147 · eISSN 1537-5323 · University of Chicago · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1867
AMERICAN NATURALIST: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.67; hybrid open access; review 4–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 138 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
AMERICAN NATURALIST is published by University of Chicago and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plant and animal studies, Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies and Animal Behavior and Reproduction, together about 36% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Since its inception in 1867, The American Naturalist has maintained its position as one of the world's premier peer-reviewed publications in ecology, evolution, and behavior research. Its goals are to publish articles that are of broad interest to the readership, pose new and significant problems, introduce novel subjects, develop conceptual unification, and change the way people think. AmNat emphasizes sophisticated methodologies and innovative theoretical syntheses—all in an effort to advance the knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Evolutionary Biology
Editor-in-chief Volker H. W.Publisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 17%); most named United States 3, Mainland China 1, Germany 1, France 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences19.4%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science8.9%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.7%
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.3%
- Animal Ecology and Behavior StudiesEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.2%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.67LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 188LetPub ·
- h-index
- 424OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 9,283OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.67OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 8.62%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 97LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 24,976 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 81 | 13 | 30 |
| 2025 | 138 | 33 | 279 |
| 2024 | 129 | 36 | 619 |
| 2023 | 135 | 54 | 1,039 |
| 2022 | 183 | 73 | 2,350 |
| 2021 | 170 | 76 | 2,387 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- University of Chicago
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1867
- ISSN
- 0003-0147
- Electronic ISSN
- 1537-5323
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about AMERICAN NATURALIST
What CAS zone is AMERICAN NATURALIST in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, AMERICAN NATURALIST is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Ecology / Evolutionary Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of AMERICAN NATURALIST?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.67; CiteScore 5.5, h-index 424.
How long does peer review take at AMERICAN NATURALIST?
Authors report an average review time of 4–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of AMERICAN NATURALIST based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 17%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3), Mainland China (1) and Germany (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index AMERICAN NATURALIST?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, AMERICAN NATURALIST is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is AMERICAN NATURALIST open access, and what is the APC?
AMERICAN NATURALIST is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .