Phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic analyses of Pelczaria aurantia ATCC 49321T (= DSM 12801T) indicate that this species is very closely related to Kocuria rosea. The DNA-DNA reassociation value of 87.1% determined for the type strains of the two species supports this finding. The results of phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA of a subculture of the original strain of Pelczaria aurantia, deposited at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA, as 'Neisseria aurantia', are identical to those for strain ATCC 49321T and indicate that Pelczaria aurantia ATCC 49321T is an authentic subculture of the original culture described by Poston (1993). On the basis of these findings it is concluded that P. aurantia ATCC 49321T and K. rosea DSM 20447T are members of the same taxon. The taxonomic consequences of this union are discussed.