Two novel bacterial strains, designated Kc1(T) and Kc5(T), were isolated from soil in Japan. Cells of the novel strains were Gram-reaction-positive, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, motile rods. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that both strains belonged to the genus Cellulomonas. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains Kc1(T) and Kc5(T) showed closest similarity to that of Cellulomonas terrae DB5(T) (98.1 % and 98.4 % similarity, respectively), and the 16S rRNA gene similarity between the two novel strains was 97.8 %. In both strains, the major menaquinone was MK-9(H(4)), the predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol mannosides, and the peptidoglycan contained ornithine and glutamic acid. Cell-wall sugars were identified as rhamnose, galactose and mannose in strain Kc1(T) and rhamnose and glucose in strain Kc5(T). The DNA G+C contents of strains Kc1(T) and Kc5(T) were 73.6 mol% and 75.8 mol%, respectively. Based on the chemotaxonomic and physiological data and the results of DNA-DNA hybridizations, the two strains represent two novel species within the genus Cellulomonas, for which the names Cellulomonas soli sp. nov. (type strain Kc1(T) =DSM 24484(T) =JCM 17535(T)) and Cellulomonas oligotrophica sp. nov. (type strain Kc5(T) =DSM 24482(T) =JCM 17534(T)) are proposed.