Journal profile · ZOOLOGY
Subterranean Biology
ISSN 1768-1448 · eISSN 1314-2615 · INT SOC SUBTERRANEAN BIOL · BULGARIA
Subterranean Biology: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.19; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 6 weeks (community reports); 34 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Subterranean Biology is published by INT SOC SUBTERRANEAN BIOL and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy, Marine Biology and Ecology Research and Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior, together about 44.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Subterranean Biology is an international journal published by Pensoft on behalf of the International Society for Subterranean Biology [SIBIOS-ISSB] for the publication of original and significant contributions on all aspects of subterranean life.The Journal will consider original scientific papers dealing with any aspect of subterranean ecosystems and their components focusing on biology, ecology, evolution and conservation.Reviews and Commentaries: The journal welcomes review articles on aspects of subterranean biology. They should be submitted in the same way as research articles but use a simple layout with no more than three levels of headings. Commentaries on previous matter published in the journal may be also considered. Both reviews and commentaries will be reviewed.Book Reviews: Reviews of books, symposia volumes and conferences pertinent to the journal are welcome.The journal publishes electronic versions of the articles when these are ready to publish, without delays that might be caused by completion of an issue. These electronic versions are not "pre-prints" but final and immutable (Version of Record), hence available for the purposes of biological nomenclature. The date indicated on the electronic version is to be considered the actual publication date.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ZOOLOGY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomyEarth and Planetary Sciences28.4%
- Marine Biology and Ecology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences10.4%
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and BehaviorEnvironmental Science6.2%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science4.7%
- Parasite Biology and Host InteractionsEnvironmental Science4.7%
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity StudiesEnvironmental Science4.3%
- Spider Taxonomy and Behavior StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4%
- Collembola Taxonomy and Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 1.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.39LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.62LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher)
- 0.62Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 23OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 87OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.24OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 98.68%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 358 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 35 | 1 |
| 2025 | 34 | 34 | 43 |
| 2024 | 22 | 22 | 69 |
| 2023 | 23 | 23 | 103 |
| 2022 | 30 | 30 | 135 |
| 2021 | 34 | 34 | 221 |
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)
- about 6 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 6 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 550 | Yes | CC BY | |
| LetPub | EUR 550 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | EUR 550 / EUR 850 / EUR 100 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI
Authors must be transparent about the use of Artificial Intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and other large language models in the manuscript preparation, and disclose details of how the AI tool was used within the "Materials and Methods" section.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship/Contributorship
Some journals are integrated with Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT), in order to recognise individual author input within a publication, thereby ensuring professional and ethical conduct, while avoiding authorship disputes, gift / ghost authorship and similar pressing issues in academic publishing. During manuscript submission, the submitting author is strongly recommended to specify a contributo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of interest
During the editorial process, the following relationships between editors and authors are considered conflicts of interest: Colleagues currently working in the same research group or department, recent co-authors, and doctoral students for which the editor served as committee chair. During the submission process, the authors are kindly advised to identify possible conflicts of interest with the jo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
GeneralThe publishing ethics and malpractice policies follow the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, WAME, and OASPA), the NISO Recommended Practices for the Presentation and Identification of E-Journals (PIE-J), and, where relevant, the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License and Copyright Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to any of Pensoft’s journals, authors certify that: They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements. The work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review or thesis); it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; its publication has been approved by all author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
This journal uses a single-blind peer review process. This means that the names of reviewers are hidden from the authors (the author does not know the identity of the reviewer, but the reviewer knows the identity of the author). Notwithstanding that, the reviewers are encouraged to disclose their identities, if they wish to do so. Each article is reviewed by at least two independent experts, with …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- INT SOC SUBTERRANEAN BIOL
- Country or region
- BULGARIA
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1768-1448
- Electronic ISSN
- 1314-2615
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Subterranean Biology
What CAS zone is Subterranean Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Subterranean Biology is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Zoology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Subterranean Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.19; CiteScore 2.2, h-index 23.
How long does peer review take at Subterranean Biology?
Authors report an average review time of about 6 weeks. 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 Subterranean Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Subterranean Biology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Subterranean Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Subterranean Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .