An International Journal

Submission of Papers
All manuscripts should be submitted electronically to one of the editors-in-chief through Elsevier Editorial System (EES) which can be accessed at http://ees.elsevier.com/palbo.

In the case of Special Issues, manuscripts should be submitted to the Guest Editor(s). Authors should ensure that they submit manuscripts and meet any additional requirements in line with deadlines set by the Guest Editor(s) to ensure that the entire Special Issue can be published in a timely fashion.

Submission of a manuscript implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that if accepted it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

English Language help service: upon request, Elsevier will direct authors to an agent who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for further information.

Manuscript Preparation
General: Manuscripts must be in double-spaced format with wide margins, and lines numbered consecutively from the beginning of the manuscript. A font size of 12 pt, and left justification of the text are required. The corresponding author should be identified (include a fax number and e-mail address). Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Authors should consult a recent issue of the journal for style. The Editors reserve the right to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity. With the submitted manuscript authors should provide the names, addresses, e-mail addresses and fax numbers of 4 suggested reviewers.

Manuscript Length:
Authors should confine the text to no more than 25-30 printed pages, with a total manuscript length (including figures and tables) of 45-50 pages. Longer contributions can also be considered but authors should first contact the reponsible editor. Synonymy lists should be included only when strictly necessary, in case of taxonomic revisions. Measurements and comparisons can often better be presented in the form tables. Larger datasets - including taxonomic annotations - can be printed in smaller type size as an appendix. Very large datasets cannot be printed but can be made available electronically as supplementary information on the journal's website.

Keywords
Authors must provide 4 to 6 keywords and place them after the abstract. Consult the most recent American Geological Institute GeoRef Thesaurus for keywords.

Abstract
The abstract should be a concise summary of the paper stating the methods used, the main results and the conclusions in a way that does not require reference to the body of the paper. The abstract should not exceed 500 words.

Nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature must be in accordance with the latest edition of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), the Vienna Code (McNeill et al., 2006) that can be accessed on-line . The rules and recommendations of the ICBN apply to all organisms traditionally treated as plants, whether fossil or non-fossil, including all palynomorphs with the exception of chitinozoa and scolecodonts which are covered by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 4th edition), which can also be accessed on-line. The description of new taxa and the introduction of new combinations must strictly follow the scheme of the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. For further information see the guidelines for the Format of descriptions of new taxa of fossil plants and palynomorphs. Genera and species names are to be written in italics, whereas higher taxonomical units are written in normal font. The first time the scientific name of a taxon is referred to in the text, the full name(s) of the author(s) should be cited; do not abbreviate names of authors. When it does not lead to confusion, generic names should be abbreviated when they have already been cited in a running paragraph. Generic names should not be abbreviated when they are positioned at the beginning of a new sentence.

Stratigraphic nomenclature must be in accordance with the guidelines of the International Stratigraphic Guide [Salvador, 1994; Murphy & Salvador, 1999; see also the website of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)]. Use informal phrases such as 'latest Devonian' (for time) and 'uppermost Toarcian' (for rock), and not ungrammatical terms such as 'end Devonian' and 'top Toarcian'. The fossil names forming part of a biostratigraphic unit (biozone) name are in italics, e.g., the Callialasporites dampieri Biozone; the dampieri Biozone; the Retitriletes austroclavitidites Subbiozone; or the austroclavitidites Subbiozone. Make a clear distinction between biozones and chronozones. When discussing geochronology, use an upper case initial letter for all formal subdivisions of eon, era, period, epoch, age, chron, and subchron, e.g., Early Silurian and Middle Ordovician. Only chronostratigraphic divisions with internationally ratified boundary stratotypes have formal status (see the IUGS journal Episodes, and the International Stratigraphic Chart on the ICS website). In all other instances, lower case initial letters should be used. In chronozones, fossil species names have a capital initial letter, and are written in Roman font, e.g. the Lamberti Chronozone. The usage of lower, middle, and upper in relation to lithostratigraphic units is generally informal and the initial letters are not capitalised, e.g. the lower Speeton Clay Formation. Fossils forming part of a lithostratigraphic unit name have an initial capital letter and are written in Roman font (e.g. Plenus Marls).

Radiocarbon ages If several radiocarbon ages are used as the basis of the chronological framework, the dates (with standard deviation) and relevant additional information (e.g. depth, dated material, δ13C, lab number, calibrated ages, see e.g. Stuiver & Polach 1977) should be given in a table. In the text it should also be clearly stated whether the ages are expressed as conventional (conventional ¹⁴C years BP) or calibrated radiocarbon years (cal. BP, in both cases BP referring to AD 1950). Moreover, calibrated dates should be reported using the latest available international calibration curve (explicitly state which INTCAL version was used) and the calibration software (and its version number) must be stated when reporting calibrated ages. The author(s) should use one consistent chronological framework, i.e. mixing of conventional and calibrated ages in text and figures should be avoided. Moreover, calibrated radiocarbon ages should be given in cal. years BP rather than in years BC. For historical dates the notion "AD" can be used (e.g. AD 1250).

_{International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Fourth Edition. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, c/o The Natural History Museum, London. McNeill, J., Barrie, F.R., Burdet, H.M., Demoulin, V., Hawksworth, D.L., Marhold, K., Nicolson, D.H., Prado, J., Silva, P.C., Skog, J.E., Wierseman, J.H., Turland, N.J. (Eds.) 2006. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Vienna Code), adopted by the Seventeenth International Botanical Congress,Vienna, Austria, July 2005. A.R.A. Gantner Verlag K.G., Liechtenstein. Murphy, M.A., Salvador, A., 1999, International Commission of Stratigraphic Classification - International Commission on Stratigraphy: International Stratigraphic Guide - An abridged version. Episodes, 22(4), 255-271. Salvador, A., 1994. International Stratigraphic Guide - A Guide to Stratigraphic Classification, Terminology, and Procedure. 2nd Ed., IUGS, GSA, Boulder. Stuiver, M., Polach H.A. 1977. Discussion, Reporting of ¹⁴C data. Radiocarbon, 19(3), 355-363.}

References 1. All references cited in the text are to be listed at the end of the paper. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spellings of authors' names and publication years are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list. Do not type author's and editor's names in capitals.

2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initials) and year of publication, followed - if necessary - by a short reference to appropriate pages. Examples: "Because Peterson (1994) has shown that...". "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1996, pp. 12-16)".

3. If reference is made in the text to publications written by more than two authors the name of the first author should be used, followed by "et al.". This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In this list names of authors and all co-authors must be given in full.

4. References in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically by authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors, the following order should be used: Publications of the single author, arranged according to publication year - publications of the same author with one co-author, arranged according to publication year - publications of the author with more than one co-author, arranged according to publication year.

The following system should be used for arranging references:

a. Journal papers: Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of paper. Journal name (given in full or abbreviated using the International List of Periodical Title Word Abbreviations), volume number (issue number): first and last page numbers of the paper.

Example:
Elbaz-Poulichet, F., Guan, D.M., Martin, J.M., 1991. Trace metal behaviour in a highly stratified Mediterranean estuary: the Krka (Yugoslavia). Mar. Chem. 32, 211-224.

b. Monographs: Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of the monograph. Publisher, location of publisher.

Example:
Zhdanov, M.S., Keller, G.V., 1994. The Geoelectrical Methods in Geophysical Exploration. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

c. Edited volume papers: Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of paper. Names and initials of the volume editors, title of the edited volume. Publisher, location of publisher, first and last page numbers of the paper.

Example:
Thomas, E., 1992. Middle Eocene-late Oligocene bathyal benthic foraminifera (Weddell Sea): faunal changes and implications for ocean circulation. In: Prothero, D.R., Berggren, W.A. (Eds.), Eocene-Oligocene Climatic and Biotic Evolution. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 245-271.

d. Conference proceedings papers: Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of paper. Name of the conference. Publisher, location of publisher, first and last page numbers of the paper.

Example:
Smith, M.W., 1988. The significance of climatic change for the permafrost environment. Final Proc. Int. Conf. Permafrost. Tapir, Trondheim, Norway, pp. 18-23.

e. Unpublished theses, reports, etc.: Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of item. All other relevant information needed to identify the item (e.g., technical report, Ph.D. thesis, institute, etc.).

Example:
Moustakas, N., 1990. Relationships of morphological and physicochemical properties of Vertisols under Greek climate conditions. Ph.D. Thesis, Agricultural Univ. Athens, Greece.

5. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained. Titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a note such as '(in Russian)' or '(in Japanese, with English Abstr.)' should be added at the end of the reference.

Illustrations
Illustrations should accompany the manuscript, but should not be included within the text. All illustrations are to have a caption. Artwork should be submitted in digital format( see Author Artwork Instructions for details).

Plates Photographs should be mounted on digital plates (portrait format; not landscape format, except for half-page plates). Plates should be numbered using Roman numbers (I, II, III, IV etc.), consecutively in the order to which they are referred to. Each individual photograph on a plate should be clearly marked with an Arabic number (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). Use a clear, sans serif typeface (e.g. Arial) between 9 point and 12 point type size, preferably on a contrasting, white background; do not use bold typefaces. Individual illustrations on a Plate are referred to in the text as Plate IV, 2, Plate XII, 3 etc. If necessary use arrows and/or letters to indicate special features; refer to these arrows and letters in the plate captions. Plates should be 18.4 cm wide, not less and not more. The page length is 24.4 cm. Individual photographs on a plate should be separated by horizontal and/or vertical lines of equal thickness, not less than 1.5 mm and not more than 2 mm thick. Each photograph should have a scale bar being not more than 1.5 mm thick. Authors are requested to use the entire page, rather than making several half-page sized plates. Palynomorphs should be illustrated at an adequate magnification, clearly showing all essential features. Individual spores, pollen grains and other palynomorphs should not be cut out along their periphery.

Figures Figures should be one column (8.9 cm) or two columns (18.4 cm) wide.

Photographs in the running text: If necessary, individual photographs (e.g., of outcrops) can be printed in the text and are then called Figures (capitalized).

Line drawings: All lettering, graph lines and points on graphs should be sufficiently large and bold to permit reproduction when the diagram has been reduced to a size suitable for inclusion in the journal. Please include latitude (˚N or ˚S) and longitude (˚W or ˚E), a North arrow, and a scale in kilometres on maps and if necessary an index map showing the geographical location of the area studied. Graphs must have all axes and lines clearly labelled, including units of measurement. Use a clear, sans serif typeface (e.g. Arial). General titles of illustrations should appear in the figure caption, not in the figure itself. Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.

Colour reproduction and colour illustrations on the website: Colour on the website is free. Two colour figures per manuscript will be printed free of charge in the journal. Authors must clearly indicate which figures should be printed in colour. Additional colour figures will be subject to standard pricing. You will receive confirmation of the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., Science Direct and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. Please note: As technical complications can arise from converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please also submit files with usable black and white illustrations corresponding to all the colour illustrations. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see the artwork instructions.

Tables
1. Authors should take note of the limitations set by the size and layout of the journal. A table should not exceed the printed area of the page. If this appears impossible, reversing columns and rows will often make the impossible possible.

2. Large tables should be avoided. Foldouts can only be accepted in exceptional cases. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide these over two or more tables. Instead of printing, extensive tables can be made available electronically as supplementary information on the journals website.

3. Tables should be compiled on separate sheets and must be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text must include references to all tables.

4. Each table must have a brief and self-explanatory title. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Units of measurement should be given in parentheses. Vertical lines must not be used to separate columns - leave extra space between the columns instead.

5. Explanations that are necessary to the understanding of the table should be given as footnotes at the bottom of the table. A footnote should be indicated by a lower-case letter.

Formulae
1. All formulae should be presented consistently and clearly with regard to the meaning of each symbol and its correct location. Formulae must be typed throughout.

2. All unusual symbols must be collected in a separate list in the appendix, giving a clear explanation of each symbol.

3. Please try to keep the notation as simple as possible, and avoid ambiguities. Do not use special typefonts if there is no urgent need to do so.

4. Different formulae should be clearly separated in the manuscript, at least by punctuation marks, if not by words. Avoid breaking formulae if breaking is not strictly necessary (i.e., if the equation is less than one typed line). Never let a sentence consist of formulae alone (i.e., without any connection with the preceding text).

5. Do not use complicated juxtapositions of symbols. Also, try to avoid complicated subscripts and superscripts; third-order indices especially present difficulties as to their size and position, and fourth-order indices are taboo.

6. The manuscript must show a clear distinction between similar symbols, (e.g., between zero (0) and the letter O, between one (1) and the letter l, and between multiplication (×) and the letter x).

7. Important formulae (e.g. definitions) must be displayed. All formulae which are to be referred to later on must be displayed and numbered consecutively throughout the paper; the number should appear on the right-hand side of the page.

8. In chemical formulae the valence of ions must be given as, for example, Ca²⁺ and CO₃ ^2- rather than as Ca⁺⁺ and CO₃ ^--.

9. Isotope numbers should precede the symbols (e.g., ¹⁸O).

Footnotes
1. Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential. In most cases it will be possible to incorporate them in the main text.

2. If used, footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript, indicated by superscript arabic numbers, and kept as short as possible.

Page proofs
One set of page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author to be checked for typesetting/editing. The author is not expected to make changes or corrections that constitute departures from the article that was accepted by the editor. Proofs should be returned within 3 days.

Copyright
1. Upon acceptance of an article by the journal, the author(s) will be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to the publisher. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.

2. The author is responsible for obtaining permission to use any copyrighted material:
a. When quoting from someone else's work or when considering reproducing an illustration or table from a book or journal article, the author should ensure that he is not infringing copyright.
b. Although in general an author may quote from other published works, he should obtain permission from the copyright holder if he wishes to use substantial excerpts or to reproduce tables, plates, or other illustrations. If the copyright holder is not the author of the quoted or reproduced material, it is recommended that the permission of the author in question is also sought.
c. Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has been obtained.
d. A suitable acknowledgement of any borrowed material must always be made.

3. Company clearance, if applicable, should be acquired prior to submission.

4. Submission of a paper for review is interpreted as a statement that the permission to reproduce and company clearance, if applicable, has been acquired.

5. The manuscript of a paper intended for publication in the journal may be reproduced and used elsewhere by the author, with the understanding that no use will be made of the material for commercial purposes.

6. Once the paper has been prepared in publication format by the publisher, the permission of the publisher is required for any use of the paper.

Cover pictures The submission of eye-catching, high quality 6.0 x 6.0 cm colour illustrations and SEM pictures for the cover of the journal is strongly encouraged. These should be accompanied by a brief description that will be printed on the back cover with an acknowledgement to the photographer. Cover photographs do not need to be part of manuscripts published in the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.

Reprints The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.