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PubMed provides an abstract and a link to the Springer website in the book “Archives of Virology”. The article requires access, but can be completed by using an institution login without purchase. Despite this, the article abstract provides valuable information on phages. Phages include eubacteria and archaea viruses with at least 5568 phages examined in electron microscopes since the introduction of negative staining in 1959. Most, about 96%, of virions are tailed with only 208 phages or 3.7% being polyhedral, filamentous, or pleomorphic. These viruses belong in one order, 17 families, and three floating groups. Phages can be found in 11 eubacteria and archaea phyla and infect 154 host genera, but mainly Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. Within the tailed phages, 61% have long noncontractile tails and belong in the Siphoviridae family. Within certain phage groups, convergent evolution is visible in their morphology.

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