Phylogenetic characterization of a novel salt‐tolerant Bacillus species: description of Bacillus dipsosauri sp. nov

The taxonomic position of a novel halophilic endospore‐forming bacterium previously isolated from a desert iguana was investigated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Comparative sequence analyses showed the unidentified bacterium to be phylogenetically loosely associated with some other spore‐forming (Bacillus pantothenticus, Sporosarcina halophila) and non‐spore‐forming (Marinococcus albus) halotolerant bacteria. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic distinctiveness of the unidentified bacterium, it is proposed that it is classified in the genus Bacillus as a new species, Bacillus dipsosauri.