A halophilic and halotolerant, facultatively alkaliphilic strain, K11(T), was isolated from soil obtained from Oshyamanbe, Oshima, Hokkaido, Japan. The isolate grew at pH 7-10. It was non-motile, Gram-positive and aerobic. Cells comprised straight rods and produced ellipsoidal spores. The isolate grew in 0-20 % NaCl, with optimum growth at 7 % NaCl, and hydrolysed casein, gelatin, starch, DNA and Tweens 20, 40, 60 and 80. The major isoprenoid quinone was menaquinone-7, and the cellular fatty acid profile consisted of significant amounts of C(15) branched-chain acids, iso C(15 : 0) and anteiso C(15 : 0). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that strain K11(T) was a member of group 6 [Nielsen et al., FEMS Microbiol Lett 117 (1994), 61-66] (alkaliphiles) of the genus Bacillus. DNA-DNA hybridization revealed a low relatedness (14 %) of the isolate to its closest phylogenetic neighbour, Bacillus clausii. On the basis of phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, phylogenetic data and DNA-DNA relatedness data, it was concluded that K11(T) (=JCM 12663(T)=NCIMB 14023(T)) merits classification as the type strain of a novel species, for which the name Bacillus oshimensis sp. nov. is proposed.