A Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, diplococcoid bacterium (strain D2-3(T)) was isolated from the biofilter of a recirculating marine aquaculture system. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of D2-3(T) indicated that the new organism occupied a novel lineage within the alpha-1 subclass of Proteobacteria and was related to the genera Rhodothalassium, Azospirillum, Craurococcus, Acidiphilium, and Tistrella. The highest sequence similarity (90.8%) of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of D2-3(T) was to that of Candidatus "Alysiosphaera europaea". D2-3(T) was mesophilic, heterotrophic, required sea salt, and had a pH optimum of 8.0. Growth in the presence of light resulted in the formation of pink colonies, a 25% increased cell yield, and a slightly increased growth rate. D2-3(T) contained carotenoids and low amounts of bacteriochlorophyll a. Membranes of D2-3(T) contained b-type cytochromes. The G+C content of the DNA was 60.3+/-0.1mol%. Phylogenetic, morphological, physiological, and biochemical analyses demonstrated that D2-3(T) represented a new aerobic phototrophic genus, for which the name Geminicoccus roseus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed for the type species (D2-3(T)=DSM 18922(T)=ATCC BAA-1445(T)).