Over the course of the last several years, members of the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences (AAPS), supportive academics and other concerned parties have been in discussions over the creation of an AAPS sponsored academic journal. This loose association of members, under the direction of AAPS President Mike Triebold was organized in 2005 into the AAPS Journal Publications Committee (JPC). The Journal Publications Committee was charged with the task of developing The Journal, determining its operating structure, establishing submission guidelines, rules and regulations, petitioning academics for a Peer Review Board (PRB) and other creative, logistical and structural facets of this embryonic publication. In February of 2006 with the leadership of the JPC chairman Walter W. Stein and vice-chairman, George Winters, the JPC began the process of transforming the loose, individual ideas of its members into a more streamlined and uniform concept. While individual members of the JPC may differ with certain points of the final product (on a case by case basis), this online-journal represents the majority opinion of the JPC and the AAPS Board of Directors after much debate and discussion.

MISSION STATEMENT

"The Journal of Paleontological Sciences is dedicated to helping preserve the fossil record for future generations. We support those in the field who through ethical principles and ideals, work towards advancing our knowledge of ancient life. Our mission is to provide a free and open forum for ALL members of the paleontological community (including, academic paleontologists, commercial paleontologists, independent paleontologists, private collectors, amateurs, and enthusiasts) to share with others their research, discoveries, ideas and observations of the paleontological world. We are committed to helping expand the boundaries of communication and cooperation with those members so that science in its purest form is best attained. Let our work here record the history of this endeavor."

The Journal publishes original paleontological research, descriptions of previously undocumented specimens, large data sets and other articles of interest to the paleo-community. Publication in The Journal is open to any and all researchers from both the public and private sector interested in helping attain these goals. The Journal is published electronically on the internet and updated on a quarterly basis. At the end of each year, selected submissions as determined by the Journal Publications Committee (JPC) will be published in an annual print edition available to the public for a fee. Manuscripts can be submitted from either AAPS members or non-members. Publication is free, however authors are encouraged to become members of the AAPS and additional donations to the not-for-profit, 501C-3 AAPS are welcomed. Donations or membership however do not affect your chance of publication. At this time, we are only able to accept submissions written in English.