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UNIDENTIFIED VIRUS-LIKE DISEASE TAGS

• Camellia ringspot
• Fraxinus excelsior mottle-pucker
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis vein chlorosis
• Philadelphus mottle
• Pelargonium ringspot
• Prunus mosaic
• Prunus mottle
• Solanum mauritianum ringspot

PUTATIVE VIRUS SPECIES TAGS

• 'Aucuba bacilliform'
• 'Camellia yellow mottle virus'
• 'Hackberry island chlorosis'

JUSTIFICATION FOR UNINTUITIVE IDENTIFICATIONS

1. Aucuba japonica "var. crotonoides" and "crotonifolia" are ostensibly not genuine varieties, but rather, the yellow spots are caused by a common, horticulturally-desired, vertically-transmitted infection of 'Aucuba bacilliform', a putative species in the genus Badnavirus (T.E.R:R.A.I.N.). Because the virus is desired, observations on non-wild hosts may be considered non-wild.
2. Dinocampus coccinellae paralysis virus is necessarily present in all Dinocampus coccinellae (Dheilly et al. 2015). Therefore, evidence of the latter is also evidence of the former.
3. Rose mosaic is identified as 'Viruses' because it may be caused by any combination of four virus species (Apple mosaic virus / Prunus necrotic ringspot virus / Arabis mosaic virus / Strawberry latent ringspot virus), some of which share no higher taxa (da Silva et al. 2018).

RECCOMENDATIONS FOR INATURALIST

1. iNaturalist taxonomy should refer to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) as an external name provider. The current coverage of virus taxonomy is very limited. If better facilitated, iNaturalist has the potential to become an important pathology database.
2. Species names should be allowed to include Arabic numerals, removing the current need to spell them, which is incorrect. (This may become redundant if the ICTV imposes a strict latin binomial nomenclature).
3. All virus taxa are supposed to be italicised.
4. Viruses are not a Kingdom, and should be changed to a rank-neutral alternative such as 'Group'.