A slightly halophilic, Gram-stain-negative, straight-rod-shaped aerobe, strain JO1(T), was isolated from jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood. Cells were observed singly or in pairs and had 2-5 peritrichous flagella. Optimal growth occurred at 25 degrees C, in 6.5 % (w/v) salts and at pH 5.0-6.0. Strain JO1(T) was oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. Cells did not reduce fumarate, nitrate or nitrite on respiration. Acid was produced from several carbohydrates and the strain utilized many sugars and amino acids as carbon and nitrogen sources. The main fatty acids were C(12 : 0) 3-OH, C(16 : 0), C(17 : 0) cyclo and summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)omega7c/iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH). DNA-DNA hybridization experiments with strain JO1(T) and Cobetia marina DSM 4741(T) revealed 24 % relatedness, although high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (98.9 %) was observed between these strains. Based on phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, it is proposed that the isolate from jeotgal should be classified as a representative of a novel species, Cobetia crustatorum sp. nov., with strain JO1(T) (=KCTC 22486(T)=JCM 15644(T)) as the type strain.