Journal of Lost Species

Published in collaboration with the

Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability,

Re:wild, and the University of Nevada

The Journal of Lost Species (JLS) is a peer-reviewed record of the ongoing mass extinction event. Our goals are to advance scientific understanding of extinction, support the development of methods for biodiversity documentation, and facilitate the rediscovery of lost species.

The word "lost" is important, because it reminds us that species that have not been seen in many years might be found again. In addition to preserving information about the disappearing diversity of life on Earth, a key part of the mission of JLS is to provide a scientifically rigorous platform for the rediscovery and recovery of rare, threatened and declining species. You can read more about our vision on the Aims and Scope page.

What is a lost species? It has been suggested that if a species has not been seen in 10 years, it can be considered lost. We support the use of 10 years as a starting point, but also encourage flexibility for different organisms and different amounts of search effort. In the sections below, you'll find a brief overview of the five article types published by JLS. See Author Guidelines for more details, as well as the Accessibility page for information on our model for minimal author fees and translation services.

The Kauaʻi ʻōʻō (Moho braccatus) was the last of the Hawaiian honeyeaters, last reported from the wild in 1987. (Image: John Keulemans)

JLS is a scientific journal but our audience extends beyond academic scientists: we invite contributions from land managers, conservation practitioners, amateur naturalists, and community scientists.

We are growing, and throughout 2025 we will be building our editorial board, online submission system and other resources.

The Silver-backed Chevrotain, a small deer-like ungulate, was lost to science for nearly 30 years before its rediscovery in Vietnam’s coastal forests. Through local interviews and strategic camera trapping, researchers captured the first images of the species in the wild, offering hope for its conservation. (image copyright: SIE/Re:wild/Leibniz-IZW/NCNP)

See below for a quick overview of article types published by JLS, and see the Author Guidelines for full details, as well as a visual guide to article types and our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Reports

Reports are the core article type used to document the loss of taxonomic entities, by which we mean species or subspecies, but also the loss of higher taxonomic units; extirpation of individual populations will not be considered. Loss for many groups of organisms and in many parts of the world involves taxa that have not been formally described; publications on the loss of these undescribed taxa will be considered. JLS is fundamentally a journal of the Anthropocene, and does not encompass extinctions from the fossil record.

Alerts

Alerts are the shortest submissions, and will be used to highlight species whose status is potentially approaching lost, but which do not yet meet the criteria for a Report. For example, a species might have been seen within the last ten years but at a frequency far below historical levels; or, in other cases, declines might be severe in some areas, indicating a range-wide problem, even if a species can still be found in other areas. The publication of an Alert can facilitate the organization of field efforts. Both Alerts and Reports can cover multiple species in a single publication.

Rediscoveries

Rediscoveries are the good news that previously lost species have been documented in the wild again. The publication of a rediscovery is a first step towards conservation and management of the Earth's rarest and often most-imperriled species. Rediscoveries might or might not refer to reports of lost species published previously in JLS, but will in all cases be subject to the same critical peer review process as other articles that we handle.

Synopses

Synopses review the status of lineages (globally or within a region), rather than focusing on the recent disappearance of individual species. The primary function of a Synopsis is to bring together information on well known (previously-documented) Anthropocene extinctions, which serves as an important benchmark for the documentation of loss moving forward.

Letters

Letters are the most flexible submission category, allowing for the publication of methodological advances, meta-analyses, reviews, and opinion pieces, as well as data papers on biodiversity decline that do not fall neatly into the three categories described above.

The image at the top of the page shows Sloane's urania moth (Urania sloanus), previously endemic to Jamaica, last seen near the start of the 20th century. (Illustration: Groß Großmann; image: Morton1905)