Table 2.

Order Mononegavirales

Incorrect usage	Correct usage	Explanation
Nyamanini and related viruses are novel Mononegavirales	Nyamanini and related viruses require the establishment of a novel taxon in the order Mononegavirales	The order Mononegavirales is a taxon. Taxa are theoretical concepts and do not exist physically. They are defined by the properties of physical members. Viruses exist physically. A physical entity cannot be a theoretical concept. Mononegaviruses/mononegavirads are the vernacular names for (the group of) members of the order Mononegavirales. Hence, these vernacular names stand for physical entities
	Nyamanini and related viruses are novel mononegaviruses
	Nyamanini and related viruses are novel mononegavirads
Mononegavirales matrix proteins interact with membranes	Mononegavirus matrix proteins interact with membranes	The order Mononegavirales is a taxon. Taxa are theoretical concepts and therefore do not possess matrix proteins. Mononegaviruses/mononegavirads are the physical members of the order. They have matrix proteins. “Mononegavirales” is a noun, whereas “mononegavirus,” “mononegaviral,” and “mononegavirad” are adjectives
	Mononegavirad matrix proteins interact with membranes
	Mononegaviral matrix proteins interact with membranes
Expression of antigenomic RNA enhances the rescue efficacies of two different members of the Mononegavirales	Expression of antigenomic RNA enhances the rescue efficacies of two different members of the order Mononegavirales	ICVCN Article 3 Rule IX-3.41 demands that “the name of taxon [in this case “order”] shall precede the term for the taxonomic unit [in this case “Mononegavirales”]” [9]
Identification and characterization of a newly identified member species of the Mononegavirales	Identification and characterization of a newly identified member of the order Mononegavirales	The order Mononegavirales is a taxon. Names of taxa are italicized. Taxa are concepts, not physical entities, they cannot be identified or characterized. A new virus was identified and characterized, hence it cannot be a new species. It can, however, indicate the need for establishment of a new species
	Identification and characterization of a novel virus requiring the establishment of a new species in the order Mononegavirales