Journal profile · Paleontology
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
ISSN 0272-4634 · eISSN 1937-2809 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · UNITED STATES · Quarterly
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.65; hybrid open access; median 183 days to acceptance (104 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 85 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. and is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Evolution and Paleontology Studies, Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology and Ichthyology and Marine Biology, together about 65.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Paleontology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology publishes original contributions on all aspects of vertebrate paleobiology, including vertebrate origins, evolution, functional morphology, taxonomy, biostratigraphy, phylogenetics, paleoecology, paleobiogeography, and paleoanthropology. JVP publishes high quality peer-reviewed original articles, occasional reviews, and interdisciplinary papers. It is international in scope, and emphasizes both specimen- and field-based based research and the use of high-quality illustrations. Priority is given to articles dealing with topics of broad interest to the entire vertebrate paleontology community and to high-impact specialist studies. Articles dealing with narrower topics, including notes on taxonomic name changes (unless these deal with errors published in JVP), preliminary site reports, and documentation of new specimens of well-known taxa, are afforded lower priority.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Paleontology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Evolution and Paleontology StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences26.1%
- Paleontology and Evolutionary BiologyEarth and Planetary Sciences23.6%
- Ichthyology and Marine BiologyEnvironmental Science15.4%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science5.1%
- Bat Biology and Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.6%
- Fish biology, ecology, and behaviorEnvironmental Science3.5%
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologySocial Sciences2.7%
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsEarth and Planetary Sciences2.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Paleontology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Paleontology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Earth Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Paleontology | Zone 4 |
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
- 1.65LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- h-index
- 70LetPub ·
- h-index
- 118OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,869OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.39OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 12.13%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 80LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,273 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 61 | 26 | 9 |
| 2025 | 85 | 25 | 128 |
| 2024 | 71 | 23 | 164 |
| 2023 | 86 | 32 | 381 |
| 2022 | 90 | 35 | 557 |
| 2021 | 125 | 48 | 1,146 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
183 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 130 days – 280 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 67 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 261 days
- Sample
- 104 articles with submission and acceptance dates (154 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
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
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- ISSN
- 0272-4634
- Electronic ISSN
- 1937-2809
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
What CAS zone is Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Paleontology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.65; CiteScore 3, h-index 118.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology?
Based on the dates recorded on 104 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 183 days (interquartile range 130–280 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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.
Which databases index Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 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: .