A novel Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, gliding, halotolerant, aerobic, light-pink-pigmented bacterium, strain JL3085 T , was isolated from surface water of the South China Sea (16 49¢ 4 † N 112 20¢ 24 † E; temperature: 28.3 C, salinity: 34.5%). The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The polar lipids of strain JL3085T comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified phospholipids and three unidentified lipids. The major fatty acids were iso-C 15 : 0 , summed feature 3 (comprising iso-C 15 : 0 2-OH and/or C 16 : 1 !7c), iso-C 17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C 17 : 1 !9c, The genus Echinicola was first proposed by Nedashkovskaya et al. (2006), and includes Echinicola pacifica, Echinicola vietnamensis, Echinicola jeungdonensis and 'Echinicola shivajiensis'. Species of the genus Echinicola share the following characteristics: aerobic, heterotrophic, Gram-negative, gliding and non-diffusible carotenoid-pigmented bacteria with iso-C 15 : 0 , C 16 : 1 !5c, iso-C 17 : 1 !9c, C 17 : 1 !5c, iso-C 17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (comprising iso-C 15 : 0 2-OH and/or C 16 : 1 !7c) as the major fatty acids, menaquinone 7 (MK-7) as the major respiratory quinone, and DNA G+C content ranging from 44.0 to 46.9 mol% (Nedashkovskaya et al., 2006(Nedashkovskaya et al., , 2007Kim et al., 2011;Srinivas et al., 2012). Our objective in this study was to evaluate the phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics of a new strain, JL3085 T , isolated from surface seawater of the South China Sea. The results suggest that this strain is affiliated to the genus Echinicola and represents a novel species. A 100 µl suspension was spread on marine agar 2216 (MA; Difco) medium and cultured at 30.0 C for 1 week, then a light-pink colony was picked and purified. Subsequently, the bacterial strain JL3085T was obtained and cultivated in an electrothermal incubator for further study.Here, we describe the morphological, phylogenetic and biochemical characteristics of strain JL3085 T according to the relevant minimal standards (Logan et al., 2009;Tindall et al., 2010). E. vietnamensis DSM 17526T , E. pacifica KCTC 12368T , E. jeungdonensis KCTC 23122 T and 'E. shivajiensis' JCM 17847 were used as reference strains in parallel tests.The cell morphology of strain JL3085T was observed by transmission electron microscopy (H600; Hitachi). Gliding motility was determined as described by Bowman (2000), and an aerobic/anaerobic respiration test was performed using the semi-solid agar puncture method (Dong & Cai, 2001). Tests for the Gram reaction and the presence of poly-b-hydroxybutyrate granules were conducted according to the methods described by Gerhardt et al. (1994) and Ostle & Holt (1982), respectively.The full and optimum growth ranges of temperature and pH for strain JL3085T were examined by assessing changes in the OD 600 values during the incubation period in marine broth 2216 (MB; Difco). The temperature range for growth was determined by incubation at 4. 0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0, 30.0, 35.0, 40.0, 45.0 and 50.0 C [at 2...