A Gram-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped, Microbulbifer-like bacterial strain, ISL-39(T), was isolated from a marine solar saltern of the Yellow Sea in Korea and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic investigation. Strain ISL-39(T) grew optimally at pH 7.0-8.0 and 37 degrees C. It contained Q-8 as the predominant ubiquinone and iso-C(15 : 0), C(16 : 0) and iso-C(17 : 0) as the major fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 57.7 mol%. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain ISL-39(T) belonged to the genus Microbulbifer. Strain ISL-39(T) exhibited 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values of 94.7-97.5 % with respect to the type strains of four recognized Microbulbifer species. DNA-DNA relatedness data and the differential phenotypic properties and phylogenetic distinctiveness of ISL-39(T) make this strain distinguishable from the recognized Microbulbifer species. On the basis of the phenotypic, phylogenetic and genetic data, strain ISL-39(T) represents a novel species of the genus Microbulbifer, for which the name Microbulbifer celer sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ISL-39(T) (=KCTC 12973(T)=CCUG 54356(T)).