Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
Zoological Letters
ISSN 2056-306X · BioMed Central · United Kingdom · Founded 2015
Zoological Letters: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.77; fully open access; APC about USD 2,190; median 87 days to acceptance (32 articles, last 24 months); 12 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Zoological Letters is published by BioMed Central 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 Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation, Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research and Marine Ecology and Invasive Species, together about 24.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Zoological Letters is an open access journal that publishes new and important findings in the zoological sciences. As a sister journal to Zoological Science, Zoological Letters covers a wide range of basic fields of zoology, from taxonomy to bioinformatics. We also welcome submissions of paleontology reports as part of our effort to contribute to the development of new perspectives in evolutionary zoology. Our goal is to serve as a global publishing forum for fundamental researchers in all fields of zoology.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
Editor-in-chief Shigeru KurataniPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 3%); most named Japan 36, United States 6, United Kingdom 3, Mainland China 2, Taiwan, China 2 (58 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Developmental Biology and Gene RegulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.7%
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchNeuroscience8.7%
- Marine Ecology and Invasive SpeciesEnvironmental Science6.2%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.7%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences5%
- Marine Biology and Ecology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences5%
- Ichthyology and Marine BiologyEnvironmental Science4.5%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science4.2%
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 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Zoology | Zone 2 |
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
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 2.77LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.54LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 1LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 160OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.28OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 10LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 1,984Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 323,900Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 273 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18 | 18 | 4 |
| 2025 | 12 | 12 | 20 |
| 2024 | 23 | 23 | 97 |
| 2023 | 23 | 23 | 222 |
| 2022 | 14 | 14 | 163 |
| 2021 | 16 | 16 | 242 |
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
87 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 58 days – 150 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 38 days (32 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 143 days
- Sample
- 32 articles with submission and acceptance dates (33 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)
- about 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous 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 | GBP 1,490 / USD 2,190 / EUR 1,790 | Yes | CC BY, CC0 | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,090 / EUR 1,690 / GBP 1,390 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,490 / USD 2,190 / EUR 1,790 | Yes | — |
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
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2015
- ISSN
- 2056-306X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- 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 Zoological Letters
What CAS zone is Zoological Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Zoological Letters is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Zoology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Zoological Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.77; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 39.
How long does peer review take at Zoological Letters?
Based on the dates recorded on 32 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 87 days (interquartile range 58–150 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Zoological Letters based?
Of the 58 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Japan (36), United States (6) and United Kingdom (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Zoological Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Zoological Letters is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Zoological Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Zoological Letters is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .