History of the taxon:
Etymology of the name:
Taxon: Iridoviridae; Proposal: Ratification 1975; : ; ICTV Report: Iridoviridae; Reference: PMID: 28648249
from Iris (iridos), the daughter of mythological Greek gods, whose sign was the rainbow, referring to the iridescent appearance of invertebrates infected with viruses of the family as well as centrifuged pellets of virions; the suffix -viridae for family taxa