The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (RBZ) is a peer-reviewed journal, which rapidly publishes high quality papers in Taxonomy, Ecology and Conservation Biology of animals from Southeast Asia and its adjacent areas. The journal aims to build up quality information on the animal diversity of Southeast Asia in particular. The journal will also publish papers from outside the stated geographic range that deal with material deposited in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC) of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR), National University of Singapore. Both descriptive and experimental papers will be considered. Similarly, both single species and ecosystem studies will be considered for publication. Manuscripts that are checklists or based on new records will no longer be accepted unless they are of significant scientific value. Papers outside the stated policy and new records of animals will only be accepted at the discretion of the Editors/Editorial Board. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology will consist of a single volume (two issues) each year, continuing the sequence of its two predecessors, Bulletin of the Raffles Museum (1928-1960) and Bulletin of the National Museum of Singapore (1961-1970). A separately numbered supplement series will be published as and when manuscripts and funding permits. From 2005, the RBZ will be converted to an online publication. As such, very few hardcopies will be printed and papers published in the RBZ will be circulated as PDF files. Papers published in the RBZ will be available for downloading via the RBZ website for research purposes.