Name: Haloarcula marismortui (ex Volcani 1940) Oren et al. 1990

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov., nom. rev.

Etymology: ma.ris.mor’tu.i. L. gen. neut. n. maris, of the sea; L. adj. mortuus -a -um, dead; N.L. gen. neut. n. marismortui, of the Dead Sea

Pronunciation, gender: ma-ris-MOR-tu-i, feminine

Type strain: ATCC 43049; CGMCC 1.1784; DSM 3752; JCM 8966; VKM B-1809

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AB355987 Analyse FASTA

Valid publication: Oren A, Ginzburg M, Ginzburg BZ, Hochstein LI, Volcani BE. Haloarcula marismortui (Volcani) sp. nov., nom. rev., an extremely halophilic bacterium from the Dead Sea. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1990; 40:209-210.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

Risk group: 1

• Emendations:
  • Liu et al. 2025 Liu JQ, Zhu LR, Mao YL, Ma X, Hou J. Genome-Based Reclassification of Two Haloarcula Species and Characterization of Haloarcula montana sp. nov. Biology (Basel) 2025; 14:0.
    Notes:
    • 🧍 As of 2025-06-11 this emendation was not yet included in an IJSEM List of Changes in Taxonomic Opinion.

• Notes:
  • 🧬 The phylogenomic assignment score of this taxon is 0.24929 (N = 8).
  • 😷 The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 1, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 1". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 1. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 1. — 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 250 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🧍 In 1940, B. Elazari-Volcani described "Flavobacterium (Halobacterium) maris-mortui (sic)" (B. Elazari-Volcani, Studies on the microflora of the Dead Sea. Thesis, Hebrew Univ., Jerusalem, 1940, V and 48) [1]. Publication: Elazari-Volcani B. Genus XII. Halobacterium Elazari-Volcani, 1940. In: Breed RS, Murray EGD, Smith NR (eds), Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, seventh edition, The Williams & Wilkins Co, Baltimore, 1957, p. 207-212.
  • 🧍 Later this author dropped the "Elazari" from his family name and added the E. as an initial [2]. As co-author of the paper by Oren et al. 1990, he requested that his name be cited as Volcani [2]. Consequently, in the "List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature", Haloarcula marismortui is cited as Haloarcula marismortui (ex Volcani 1940) Oren et al. 1990. — Oren A. Personal communication, 2004-12-11.
  • 🧍 Nom. rev. / basonym "Halobacterium marismortui". Publication: Larsen H. Genus I. Halobacterium Elazari-Volcani 1957, 207AL. In: Krieg NR, Holt JG (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, first edition, vol. 1, The Williams & Wilkins Co, Baltimore, 1984, p. 262-266.

Parent taxon: Haloarcula Torreblanca et al. 1986

Assigned by: Oren A, Ginzburg M, Ginzburg BZ, Hochstein LI, Volcani BE. Haloarcula marismortui (Volcani) sp. nov., nom. rev., an extremely halophilic bacterium from the Dead Sea. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1990; 40:209-210.

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Record number: 776685