Salinisphaera hydrothermalis sp. nov., a mesophilic, halotolerant, facultatively autotrophic, thiosulfate-oxidizing gammaproteobacterium from deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and emended description of the genus Salinisphaera.

A mesophilic, aerobic, facultatively chemolithoautotrophic bacterium, designated strain EPR70(T), was isolated from hydrothermal fluids from diffuse-flow vents on the East Pacific Rise at degrees 50' N 10 degrees 17' W. Cells were Gram-negative rods, approximately 0.8-1.