Abstract
The name of the class Actinobacteria is illegitimate according to Rules 15, 22 and 27(3) because it was proposed without the designation of a nomenclatural type. I therefore propose to designate the order Actinomycetales Buchanan 1917, 162 (Approved Lists 1980) as its nomenclatural type, based on Rule 22 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.