A Gram-positive, aerobic strain, designated MSL-05T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from Bigeum Island, Korea, and its taxonomic position was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Cells of the novel strain were coccoid and occurred singly. The novel strain grew over a wide range of NaCl concentrations (0-7 %, w/v). The optimum growth temperature and pH were 28 degrees C and 7.2, respectively. Chemotaxonomic characteristics [peptidoglycan type, meso-diaminopimelic acid; major menaquinone, MK-8(H4); predominant fatty acids, i-C16 : 0, ai-C17 : 0, C16 : 0 and i-C14 : 0; DNA G+C content of 72.9 mol%] placed this organism within the genus Marmoricola. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis confirmed this classification, but showed that the novel strain was distinct from its nearest neighbours. Strain MSL-05T was found in the same clade as the type strains of species of the genus Marmoricola and also shared low gene sequence similarity with Marmoricola aequoreus JCM 13812T (96.91 %) and Marmoricola aurantiacus DSM 12652T (95.39 %). Based on the results of phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses, it is proposed that the new isolate should be classified as a novel species in the genus Marmoricola, for which the name Marmoricola bigeumensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MSL-05T (=KCTC 19287T=DSM 19426T).