Name: Moraxella catarrhalis (Frosch and Kolle 1896) Henriksen and Bøvre 1968 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Mikrokokkus catarrhalis" Frosch and Kolle 1896

Etymology: ca.tar.rha’lis. L. masc. n. catarrhus, a flowing down, the catarrh, rheum; L. masc./fem. adj. suff. -alis, suffix denoting pertaining to; N.L. fem. adj. catarrhalis, pertaining to a catarrh

Pronunciation, gender: ka-tar-R^HA-lis, feminine

Type strain: ATCC 25238; CCUG 353; CIP 73.21; DSM 9143; LMG 5128; NCTC 11020; Ne 11

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AF005185 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Henriksen SD, Bovre K. The taxonomy of the genera Moraxella and Neisseria. J Gen Microbiol 1968; 51:387-392.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 2

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Mikrokokkus catarrhalis" Frosch and Kolle 1896	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Moraxella veridica Nguyen et al. 2025	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Branhamella catarrhalis (Frosch and Kolle 1896) Catlin 1970 (Approved Lists 1980)	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Notes:
  • ⏰ According to Committee (2025), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of Moraxella veridica Nguyen et al. 2025. Publication: Committee AH. Mitigating changes in prokaryotic nomenclature: Definitions and Workflow. Zenodo 2025; 2025:15320329.
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human pathogen". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "ht". — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "P650 = v". — The risk group for United Kingdom has been imported on 2024-01-31. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 2983 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
  • ⚠ This name is retained (and recommended for medical use. This will change in the future) instead of Moraxella veridica Nguyen et al. 2025. Publication: Nguyen SV, Escobar VH, Ali SS, Puthuveetil NP, Petrone JR, Kirkland JL, Gaffney K, Tabron CL, Wax N, Duncan J, et al. Reclassification of atypical Moraxella catarrhalis ATCC 23246 as Moraxella veridica sp. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2025; 75:6797. Oren A, Göker M. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 75, part 5 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2025; 75:6824.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0.

Parent taxon: Moraxella Lwoff 1939 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Henriksen SD, Bovre K. The taxonomy of the genera Moraxella and Neisseria. J Gen Microbiol 1968; 51:387-392.

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Record number: 784281