Name: Bdellovibrio Stolp and Starr 1963 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Genus

Proposed as: gen. nov.

Etymology: Bdel.lo.vi’bri.o. Gr. fem. n. bdella, leech, sucker; L. v. vibro, to set in tremulous motion, move to and fro, vibrate; N.L. masc. n. vibrio, that which vibrates, and also a bacterial genus name of bacteria possessing a curved rod shape (Vibrio); N.L. masc. n. Bdellovibrio, a leechlike vibrio

Gender, pronunciation (Latin): masculine (stem: Bdellovibrion-), bdel-lo-WI-bri-o

Type species: Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Stolp and Starr 1963 (Approved Lists 1980)

Conduct genome-based taxonomy of genus at TYGS

16S rRNA gene: Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Stolp H, Starr MP. BDELLOVIBRIO BACTERIOVORUS GEN. ET SP. N., A PREDATORY, ECTOPARASITIC, AND BACTERIOLYTIC MICROORGANISM. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 1963; 29:217-248.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the class Bdellovibrionia Waite et al. 2020. Publication: Waite DW, Chuvochina M, Pelikan C, Parks DH, Yilmaz P, Wagner M, Loy A, Naganuma T, Nakai R, Whitman WB, et al. Proposal to reclassify the proteobacterial classes Deltaproteobacteria and Oligoflexia, and the phylum Thermodesulfobacteria into four phyla reflecting major functional capabilities. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:5972-6016. 🇳🇿
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the family Bdellovibrionaceae Garrity et al. 2006. Publication: Garrity GM, Bell JA, Lilburn T. Family I. Bdellovibrionaceae fam. nov. In: Brenner DJ, Krieg NR, Staley JT, Garrity GM (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (The Proteobacteria), part C (The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria), Springer, New York, 2005, p. 1040-1041. 🇺🇸
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the order Bdellovibrionales Garrity et al. 2006. Publication: Garrity GM, Bell JA, Lilburn T. Order VII. Bdellovibrionales ord. nov. In: Brenner DJ, Krieg NR, Staley JT, Garrity GM (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (The Proteobacteria), part C (The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria), Springer, New York, 2005, p. 1040. 🇺🇸
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the phylum Bdellovibrionota Waite et al. 2021. Publication: Oren A, Garrity GM. Valid publication of the names of forty-two phyla of prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021; 71:5056. 🇮🇱
  • 🧕 Brenner et al. (2005) assigned this genus to the family Bdellovibrionaceae Garrity et al. 2006. Publication: Garrity GM, Bell JA, Lilburn T. Family I. Bdellovibrionaceae fam. nov. In: Brenner DJ, Krieg NR, Staley JT, Garrity GM (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (The Proteobacteria), part C (The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria), Springer, New York, 2005, p. 1040-1041. 🇺🇸
  • 🧕 Brenner et al. (2005) assigned this genus to the order Bdellovibrionales Garrity et al. 2006. Publication: Garrity GM, Bell JA, Lilburn T. Order VII. Bdellovibrionales ord. nov. In: Brenner DJ, Krieg NR, Staley JT, Garrity GM (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (The Proteobacteria), part C (The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria), Springer, New York, 2005, p. 1040. 🇺🇸
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (1998) assigned this genus to the subphylum "Thiobacteria" Cavalier-Smith 1998. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. A revised six-kingdom system of life. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 1998; 73:203-266. 🇬🇧
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (2002) assigned this genus to the class Deltabacteria Cavalier-Smith 2002. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. The neomuran origin of archaebacteria, the negibacterial root of the universal tree and bacterial megaclassification. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2002; 52:7-76. 🇬🇧
  • 🧕 Oren and Garrity (2021) assigned this genus to the phylum Bdellovibrionota Waite et al. 2021. Publication: Oren A, Garrity GM. Valid publication of the names of forty-two phyla of prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021; 71:5056. 🇮🇱
  • 🧕 Waite et al. (2020) assigned this genus to the class Bdellovibrionia Waite et al. 2020. Publication: Waite DW, Chuvochina M, Pelikan C, Parks DH, Yilmaz P, Wagner M, Loy A, Naganuma T, Nakai R, Whitman WB, et al. Proposal to reclassify the proteobacterial classes Deltaproteobacteria and Oligoflexia, and the phylum Thermodesulfobacteria into four phyla reflecting major functional capabilities. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:5972-6016. 🇳🇿
  • 🧕 Waite et al. (2020) assigned this genus to the family Bdellovibrionaceae Garrity et al. 2006. Publication: Waite DW, Chuvochina M, Pelikan C, Parks DH, Yilmaz P, Wagner M, Loy A, Naganuma T, Nakai R, Whitman WB, et al. Proposal to reclassify the proteobacterial classes Deltaproteobacteria and Oligoflexia, and the phylum Thermodesulfobacteria into four phyla reflecting major functional capabilities. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:5972-6016. 🇳🇿
  • 🙄 This taxon name is occasionally misprinted (or affected by an OCR error) in some sources as: "Bdellovibiro"; "Bdellovibpio"; "Bdellwibrio".
  • 💁 Taxonomists who have recently focused on this group are the corresponding authors of Gonzalez-Mireles et al. (2026). Editors in search of reviewers are advised to consider additional criteria such as whether a taxon is covered by one of the ICSP subcommittees.
  • 🎰 The BRCs most frequently used for deposits in this group are: ATCC: 7; DSM: 6; CM-CNRG: 2; NCIMB: 2; NCCB: 1; KCTC: 1.
  • 🧍 Pittman et al. (1991) suggested the abbreviation "BDVB" for this genus name but this does not appear to be of practical relevance any longer. Publication: Pittman KF, Walczak CA, Lock CM. Codes and abbreviations for approved of effectively published names of genera of bacteria published from January 1980 to December 1990. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1991; 41:571-579.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 4
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 7
Total number of child taxa: 10

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Bdellovibrio bacteriopascens González-Mireles et al. 2026	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Stolp and Starr 1963 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Bdellovibrio chlorellavorus" Gromov and Mamkayeva 1972	not validly published	synonym
    Bdellovibrio exovorus Koval et al. 2013	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    "Candidatus Bdellovibrio necator" corrig. Deeg et al. 2020	not validly published	pro-correct name
    "Candidatus Bdellovibrio qaytius" Deeg et al. 2020	inaccurate spelling	misspelling
    Bdellovibrio reynosensis Ajao et al. 2022	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Bdellovibrio starrii Seidler et al. 1972 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Bdellovibrio stolpii Seidler et al. 1972 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Bdellovibrio svalbardensis Choi et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Pseudobdellovibrionaceae Waite et al. 2022

Assigned by: Goker M. Filling the gaps: missing taxon names at the ranks of class, order and family. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2022; 72:5638. 🇩🇪

Linking: To permanently link to this page, use https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/bdellovibrioCopy to clipboardLink copied to clipboard

Record number: 516977