The first known species was Zaire ebolavirus discovered in 1976 near Zaire's Ebola River, a river fated to become the namesake of all Ebola viruses.

第一种已确定的类型是1976年在扎伊尔的埃博拉河附近发现的扎伊尔埃博拉病毒，这条河的名字从此成为了所有埃博拉病毒的统称。