RHBV is most closely related to Echinocloa hoja blanca virus (EHBV), another member of the Tenuivirus genome. Proteins in both the RHBV genome and the EHBV genome have been shown to be antigenically related and to possess a high degree of similarity. However, the two viruses have separate insect vectors, with EHBV infecting Tagosodes cubanus and RHBV infecting T. orizicolis. Nucleotide sequence similarity is around 80-85% in coding regions, and only 46-53% in non-coding regions.
