Journal rankings · indicator year 2018
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2018
Paleontology journal rankings 2018
76 ranked journals · Subfield in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Paleontology has 76 ranked journals in 2018. The median OJR fell 0.09 on 2017 to 0.79, below the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 1.36. The top three are Journal of Archaeological Research, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, and Newsletters on Stratigraphy.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2018. 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 2015–2017, the window the 2018 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)
76 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 2017. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2015–2017, the window the 2018 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2015–2017 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 2009 to 2018. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Journal of Archaeological ResearchSpringer Nature · Netherlands | 4.60Q1 | 2.52 1.69 down from 2017 | 33 | 30% | $3,190 | ||
2Cambridge Archaeological JournalCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 2.61Q1 | 2.22 0.97 up from 2017 | 166 | 42% | $3,550 | ||
3Newsletters on StratigraphyGebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung · Germany | 2.37Q1 | 4.73 1.30 up from 2017 | 61 | 20% | — | ||
4GeobiologyWiley · United Kingdom | 2.30Q1 | 5.00 0.35 up from 2017 | 127 | 47% | $4,880 | ||
5Journal of Anthropological ArchaeologyElsevier BV · United States | 2.25Q1 | 2.79 0.48 up from 2017 | 174 | 37% | $3,370 | ||
6Journal of PalaeogeographyOAElsevier BV · China | 1.98Q1 | 3.67 1.26 up from 2017 | 84 | 100% | $1,500 | ||
7PalaeontologyWiley · United Kingdom | 1.90Q1 | 3.28 0.48 down from 2017 | 179 | 57% | $5,000 | ||
8Open ArchaeologyOADe Gruyter Open · Poland | 1.84Q1 | 1.95 0.77 up from 2017 | 75 | 100% | $848 | ||
9European Journal of ArchaeologyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.77Q1 | 1.36 0.44 up from 2017 | 102 | 37% | $3,550 | ||
10American AntiquityCambridge University Press · United States | 1.69Q1 | 2.05 0.13 up from 2017 | 194 | 28% | $3,550 | ||
11AntiquityCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.66Q1 | 1.55 0.54 up from 2017 | 672 | 59% | $3,550 | ||
12Journal of Field ArchaeologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.64Q1 | 1.47 0.24 down from 2017 | 146 | 48% | — | ||
13Zoological Journal of the Linnean SocietyOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 1.50Q1 | 2.69 0.10 up from 2017 | 399 | 49% | $3,541 | ||
14Journal of Archaeological Science ReportsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.43Q1 | 1.73 0.01 down from 2017 | 1,210 | 33% | $2,910 | ||
15PaleobiologyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.42Q1 | 2.46 0.08 up from 2017 | 145 | 43% | $3,550 | ||
16Archaeological Research in AsiaElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.42Q1 | 1.32 0.49 down from 2017 | 91 | 24% | $2,750 | ||
17Journal of AnatomyWiley · United Kingdom | 1.39Q1 | 2.95 0.34 up from 2017 | 449 | 93% | $4,050 | ||
18EthnoarchaeologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.39Q1 | 1.67 0.48 up from 2017 | 31 | 7% | — | ||
19Journal of Systematic PalaeontologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.36Q1 | 2.50 0.24 up from 2017 | 168 | 35% | — | ||
20Vegetation History and ArchaeobotanySpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.33Q2 | 2.42 0.16 up from 2017 | 150 | 24% | $3,790 | ||
21Papers in PalaeontologyWiley · United States | 1.31Q2 | 2.57 0.20 up from 2017 | 74 | 26% | $4,480 | ||
22Subterranean BiologyOAPensoft Publishers · France | 1.18Q2 | 2.38 1.33 up from 2017 | 54 | 100% | — | ||
23Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.12Q2 | 2.11 0.35 down from 2017 | 369 | 25% | — | ||
24Acta Palaeontologica PolonicaOAInstitute of Paleobiology · Poland | 1.12Q2 | 2.14 0.39 up from 2017 | 118 | 100% | $23 | ||
25Comptes Rendus PalevolOAMuséum national d'histoire naturelle · France | 1.10Q2 | 1.74 0.21 up from 2017 | 254 | 44% | — | ||
26PalaiosSociety for Sedimentary Geology · United States | 1.07Q2 | 1.97 0.03 down from 2017 | 186 | 32% | — | ||
27Palaeontologia ElectronicaOAUnited States | 1.07Q2 | 1.78 0.25 down from 2017 | 210 | 100% | — | ||
28Fossil recordOAWiley · Germany | 1.06Q2 | 2.00 0.90 up from 2017 | 36 | 100% | $1,240 | ||
29Cretaceous ResearchElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.01Q2 | 2.29 0.07 up from 2017 | 676 | 22% | $3,560 | ||
30RadiocarbonCambridge University Press · United States | 1.00Q2 | 1.80 0.11 up from 2017 | 381 | 51% | $2,487 | ||
31LethaiaOAWiley · Norway | 1.00Q2 | 1.70 0.24 down from 2017 | 133 | 31% | $3,300 | ||
32Journal of Mammalian EvolutionSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.99Q2 | 1.88 0.19 down from 2017 | 136 | 41% | $3,790 | ||
33FaciesSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 0.93Q2 | 1.93 0.04 up from 2017 | 89 | 34% | $2,490 | ||
34GeodiversitasOAMuséum national d'histoire naturelle · France | 0.84Q2 | 1.52 0.31 up from 2017 | 65 | 73% | — | ||
35Journal of MorphologyWiley · United States | 0.83Q2 | 1.74 0.02 up from 2017 | 349 | 20% | $4,220 | ||
36Swiss Journal of PalaeontologyOASpringer Nature · Switzerland | 0.81Q2 | 1.90 0.56 up from 2017 | 67 | 54% | $1,340 | ||
37PalaeoworldElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.81Q2 | 1.29 0.07 down from 2017 | 158 | 9% | $3,000 | ||
38Environmental ArchaeologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.79Q2 | 1.07 0.01 down from 2017 | 116 | 35% | — | ||
39GeobiosElsevier BV · France | 0.78Q3 | 1.42 0.08 up from 2017 | 112 | 26% | $3,030 | ||
40Proceedings of the Prehistoric SocietyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 0.77Q3 | 1.13 0.23 down from 2017 | 49 | 78% | $3,550 | ||
41Bulletin of GeosciencesOACzechia | 0.77Q3 | 1.66 0.04 up from 2017 | 104 | 100% | — | ||
42Journal of PaleontologyCambridge University Press · United States | 0.75Q3 | 1.60 0.14 up from 2017 | 331 | 40% | $3,550 | ||
43Latin American AntiquityCambridge University Press · United States | 0.75Q3 | 0.88 0.14 down from 2017 | 130 | 30% | $3,550 | ||
44Historical BiologyTaylor & Francis · Switzerland | 0.74Q3 | 1.41 0.20 down from 2017 | 328 | 25% | — | ||
45Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of EdinburghCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 0.74Q3 | 1.02 0.53 up from 2017 | 118 | 28% | $3,550 | ||
46Paläontologische ZeitschriftSpringer Nature · Germany | 0.74Q3 | 1.36 0.04 down from 2017 | 125 | 15% | $3,190 | ||
47The Anatomical RecordWiley · United States | 0.72Q3 | 1.49 0.23 up from 2017 | 520 | 75% | $4,430 | ||
48PaleoBiosUnited States | 0.72Q3 | 0.67 0.20 down from 2017 | 30 | 90% | — | ||
49Proceedings of the Geologists AssociationElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.71Q3 | 1.61 0.15 down from 2017 | 202 | 16% | $3,300 | ||
50Alcheringa An Australasian Journal of PalaeontologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.67Q3 | 1.40 0.06 up from 2017 | 148 | 37% | — |
Subfields of Earth and Planetary Sciences, with Paleontology highlighted.
- Geophysics143
- Atmospheric Science91
- Paleontology76
- Oceanography56
- Earth-Surface Processes16
- Geology13
- Geochemistry and Petrology8
- Space and Planetary Science4
Journals
Citations made in 2018. Corpus-wide, 81.5% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
19 additional Paleontology journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2015–2017, 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: 2018. Publication window: 2015–2017. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 76
- Window papers (baseline)
- 19,596 +18.1% from indicator year 2015
- Median OJR
- 0.79 -12.8% from indicator year 2015
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2015–2017 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.