A novel thermotolerant, anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive, spore-forming bacterium was isolated from a hydrothermal chimney in Prony Bay, New Caledonia. This strain, designated FatNI3(T), grew at 15-55 °C (optimum 30 °C) and at pH 5.8-8.9 (optimum 7.7). It was slightly halophilic, requiring at least 0.5 % NaCl for growth (optimum 2.5-3.0 %), and was able to grow at up to 6 % NaCl. Sulfate, thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, sulfite, nitrate and nitrite were not used as terminal electron acceptors. Growth of strain FatNI3(T) was inhibited in the presence of sulfite (2 mM) or nitrite (2 mM). Strain FatNI3(T) fermented cellobiose, glucose, mannose, maltose, sucrose, galactose, lactose, ribose, fructose, rhamnose, raffinose, xylose, yeast extract, peptone and biotrypticase. The main fermentation products from glucose metabolism were acetate, ethanol, H2 and CO2. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0. The main polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and unknown glycolipids and phospholipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 36.6 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic and physiological properties, strain FatNI3(T) ( = DSM 25904 = JCM 18391) belonging to the phylum Firmicutes, class Clostridia, order Clostridiales, is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Vallitalea, for which the name Vallitalea pronyensis sp. nov. is proposed.