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Although extremely tiny and largely overlooked, viruses do play a key-role in marine ecology. Just as with so many other organisms in the oceans, scientists are just starting to discover the wide variety within the marine viruses. WoRMS could not lag behind, and – based on information and input from the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), WoRMS has started to add marine virus species to its register. The available information is based on the online database of the ICTV and the book “Virus taxonomy: classification and nomenclature of viruses” by King et al. (2012).
 
Up till now, 129 species have been documented, including the link with their host marine organisms, be it subspecies, species or genera. Towards the future, a continuous collaboration with ICTV will be set up, ensuring that WoRMS can keep up with new developments and species descriptions regarding these tiny creatures of the ocean.

Image: Viruses and bacteria from 0.5mL of reservour water, Nacia, Mexico. Magnification: 1000x (Image taken from the Suttle Laboratory: Marine Virology and Microbiology website)