Journal rankings · indicator year 2017
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2017
Paleontology journal rankings 2017
73 ranked journals · Subfield in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Paleontology has 73 ranked journals in 2017. The median OJR fell 0.06 on 2016 to 0.87, below the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 1.31. The top three are Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Geobiology, and Palaeontology.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2017. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2014–2016, the window the 2017 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Earth and Planetary Sciences (8)
73 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2016. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2014–2016, the window the 2017 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2014–2016 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2008 to 2017. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Journal of Anthropological ArchaeologyElsevier BV · United States | 2.32Q1 | 2.32 0.10 down from 2016 | 186 | 49% | $3,370 | ||
2GeobiologyWiley · United Kingdom | 2.29Q1 | 4.65 0.92 up from 2016 | 128 | 35% | $4,880 | ||
3PalaeontologyWiley · United Kingdom | 2.12Q1 | 3.76 0.30 down from 2016 | 155 | 68% | $5,000 | ||
4Newsletters on StratigraphyGebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung · Germany | 2.10Q1 | 3.42 0.33 up from 2016 | 48 | 43% | — | ||
5American AntiquityCambridge University Press · United States | 2.01Q1 | 1.92 0.20 up from 2016 | 195 | 28% | $3,550 | ||
6Cambridge Archaeological JournalCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.93Q1 | 1.25 0.24 down from 2016 | 146 | 24% | $3,550 | ||
7Journal of Field ArchaeologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.91Q1 | 1.71 0.32 up from 2016 | 124 | 20% | — | ||
8Archaeological Research in AsiaElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.88Q1 | 1.82 0.46 up from 2016 | 38 | 28% | $2,750 | ||
9European Journal of ArchaeologyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.73Q1 | 0.92 0.05 down from 2016 | 92 | 37% | $3,550 | ||
10Norwegian Archaeological ReviewRoutledge · Norway | 1.56Q1 | 0.86 0.36 down from 2016 | 60 | 19% | — | ||
11Journal of Archaeological Science ReportsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.54Q1 | 1.74 0.29 up from 2016 | 742 | 42% | $2,910 | ||
12Open ArchaeologyOADe Gruyter Open · Poland | 1.48Q1 | 1.18 0.20 down from 2016 | 52 | 100% | $848 | ||
13PaleobiologyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.43Q1 | 2.38 0.44 down from 2016 | 145 | 35% | $3,550 | ||
14Environmental ArchaeologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.40Q1 | 1.09 0.48 down from 2016 | 108 | 36% | — | ||
15Vegetation History and ArchaeobotanySpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.40Q1 | 2.26 0.10 down from 2016 | 168 | 51% | $3,790 | ||
16Journal of Systematic PalaeontologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.35Q1 | 2.26 0.07 down from 2016 | 146 | 48% | — | ||
17Journal of AnatomyWiley · United Kingdom | 1.35Q1 | 2.61 0.09 down from 2016 | 409 | 93% | $4,050 | ||
18Papers in PalaeontologyWiley · United States | 1.31Q1 | 2.37 0.35 down from 2016 | 52 | 32% | $4,480 | ||
19Journal of PalaeogeographyOAElsevier BV · China | 1.31Q1 | 2.41 1.04 up from 2016 | 63 | 100% | $1,500 | ||
20Zoological Journal of the Linnean SocietyOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 1.28Q2 | 2.58 0.44 up from 2016 | 429 | 51% | $3,541 | ||
21Comptes Rendus PalevolOAMuséum national d'histoire naturelle · France | 1.21Q2 | 1.53 0.20 down from 2016 | 250 | 45% | — | ||
22The Paleontological Society PapersCambridge University Press · United States | 1.21Q2 | 1.16 0.34 down from 2016 | 42 | — | — | ||
23Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.18Q2 | 2.46 0.04 up from 2016 | 409 | 26% | — | ||
24Journal of Mammalian EvolutionSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.18Q2 | 2.08 0.02 up from 2016 | 119 | 33% | $3,790 | ||
25PalaiosSociety for Sedimentary Geology · United States | 1.12Q2 | 2.00 0.35 down from 2016 | 180 | 27% | — | ||
26AntiquityCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.11Q2 | 1.01 0.09 down from 2016 | 605 | 53% | $3,550 | ||
27Palaeontologia ElectronicaOAUnited States | 1.06Q2 | 2.03 0.52 up from 2016 | 188 | 100% | — | ||
28LethaiaOAWiley · Norway | 1.06Q2 | 1.94 0.21 down from 2016 | 147 | 22% | $3,300 | ||
29FaciesSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.02Q2 | 1.90 0.50 up from 2016 | 91 | 22% | $2,490 | ||
30Latin American AntiquityCambridge University Press · United States | 0.98Q2 | 1.03 0.16 up from 2016 | 108 | 34% | $3,550 | ||
31Acta Palaeontologica PolonicaOAInstitute of Paleobiology · Poland | 0.98Q2 | 1.75 0.35 up from 2016 | 117 | 100% | $23 | ||
32Cretaceous ResearchElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.98Q2 | 2.23 0.17 up from 2016 | 570 | 28% | $3,560 | ||
33Journal of Iberian GeologySpringer International Publishing · Spain | 0.96Q2 | 1.70 0.42 down from 2016 | 60 | 40% | $3,190 | ||
34Journal of PaleontologyCambridge University Press · United States | 0.95Q2 | 1.47 0.18 down from 2016 | 329 | 86% | $3,550 | ||
35Journal of MorphologyWiley · United States | 0.92Q2 | 1.72 0.08 up from 2016 | 332 | 23% | $4,220 | ||
36Proceedings of the Prehistoric SocietyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 0.88Q2 | 1.36 0.45 up from 2016 | 48 | 75% | $3,550 | ||
37Bulletin of GeosciencesOACzechia | 0.87Q2 | 1.62 0.31 up from 2016 | 109 | 94% | — | ||
38Ichnos/Ichnos : an international journal for plant and animal tracesTaylor & Francis · Switzerland | 0.84Q3 | 1.45 0.12 down from 2016 | 86 | 16% | — | ||
39Proceedings of the Geologists AssociationElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.84Q3 | 1.76 0.10 up from 2016 | 181 | 17% | $3,300 | ||
40Historical BiologyTaylor & Francis · Switzerland | 0.82Q3 | 1.62 0.47 up from 2016 | 258 | 23% | — | ||
41RadiocarbonCambridge University Press · United States | 0.82Q3 | 1.68 0.30 up from 2016 | 410 | 42% | $2,487 | ||
42The Anatomical RecordWiley · United States | 0.81Q3 | 1.27 0.46 down from 2016 | 587 | 72% | $4,430 | ||
43GeobiosElsevier BV · France | 0.81Q3 | 1.34 0.48 down from 2016 | 114 | 24% | $3,030 | ||
44Paläontologische ZeitschriftSpringer Nature · Germany | 0.81Q3 | 1.41 0.06 down from 2016 | 104 | 24% | $3,190 | ||
45Southeastern ArchaeologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.81Q3 | 0.93 0.19 down from 2016 | 78 | 3% | — | ||
46Palaeobiodiversity and PalaeoenvironmentsSpringer Nature · Germany | 0.80Q3 | 1.70 0.34 up from 2016 | 115 | 40% | $3,190 | ||
47GeodiversitasOAMuséum national d'histoire naturelle · France | 0.79Q3 | 1.21 0.54 down from 2016 | 58 | 78% | — | ||
48Alcheringa An Australasian Journal of PalaeontologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.78Q3 | 1.34 0.13 up from 2016 | 141 | 22% | — | ||
49PalaeoworldElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.74Q3 | 1.36 0.14 up from 2016 | 157 | 12% | $3,000 | ||
50Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural HistoryUnited States | 0.71Q3 | 1.83 0.58 up from 2016 | 45 | 17% | — |
Subfields of Earth and Planetary Sciences, with Paleontology highlighted.
- Geophysics147
- Atmospheric Science89
- Paleontology73
- Oceanography55
- Geology15
- Earth-Surface Processes14
- Geochemistry and Petrology8
- Space and Planetary Science4
Journals
Citations made in 2017. Corpus-wide, 77.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
23 additional Paleontology journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2014–2016, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2017. Publication window: 2014–2016. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 73
- Window papers (baseline)
- 18,584 +17.1% from indicator year 2014
- Median OJR
- 0.87 +5.3% from indicator year 2014
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2014–2016 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 53 | 53 | 54 | 53 | 53 | 51 | 53 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 66 | 66 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 78 | 77 | 73 | 77 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 7,057 | 7,924 | 8,570 | 9,199 | 9,500 | 9,801 | 10,405 | 10,925 | 11,640 | 12,204 | 12,986 | 13,788 | 14,602 | 15,085 | 15,876 | 16,591 | 17,958 | 18,584 | 19,596 | 19,477 | 19,946 | 19,760 | 20,309 | 19,925 | 19,964 | 19,466 | |
| Median OJR | 0.75 | 0.61 | 0.619 | 0.63 | 0.620 | 0.708 | 0.660 | 0.65 | 0.69 | 0.715 | 0.7325 | 0.735 | 0.80 | 0.81 | 0.829 | 0.90 | 0.93 | 0.87 | 0.79 | 0.832 | 0.831 | 0.78 | 0.7318 | 0.68 | 0.657 | 0.64 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.