''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' (formerly ''Copeia'') is a quarterly

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such ...

covering research in

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish ( Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish ( Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Oct ...

and

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and ...

that was originally named after

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interes ...

, a prominent

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

researcher in these fields. It is the official journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. According to the ''

Journal Citation Reports ''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publicationby Clarivate Analytics (previously the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters). It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science-Core Colle ...

'', ''Copeia'' has a 2021

impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ...

of 1.857, ranking it 65th out of 176 journals in the category "Zoology".

History

On December 27, 1913,

John Treadwell Nichols John Treadwell Nichols (June 11, 1883 – November 10, 1958) was an American ichthyologist and ornithologist. Life and career Nichols was born in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Blake (Slocum) and John White Treadwell Nic ...

published the first issue of ''Copeia''. This issue consisted of a single piece of paper folded to form four pages of information with five articles. The cover of the pamphlet bore the inscription: "Published by the contributors to advance the science of coldblooded vertebrates." In 2020, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists voted to rename the journal, Ichthyology & Herpetology.

Name change

The journal was named after

, a renowned 19th century herpetologist, naturalist, and paleontologist, who identified thousands of vertebrate species. In 2020, members of the Society raised the issue that the name of the journal be changed because

held views on race and women that are undeniably offensive. The editor of the journal, W. Leo Smith, formally recommended the change of the journal's name on 29 June 2020 to the Society's Board of Governors. The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists' Executive Committee and Board of Governors voted to change the name of the journal on 2 July 2020. The journal was renamed ''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' in early 2021. On 19 March 2021, the first three articles of ''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' were published online. These three articles covered the history, context, and reasons for the name change, including an introduction from the journal's editor, an interview with the individuals voicing concerns about the name of the journal, and an essay (''The Exact and Very Strange Truth'') by the author, John Nichols, who is a grandson of the journal's founder,

References

External links

* * * *{{wikispecies-inline, ISSN 0045-8511 Ichthyology journals Herpetology journals Publications established in 1913 Quarterly journals English-language journals 1913 establishments in the United States