A Marinomonas-like bacterium, strain KMM 3893(T), was isolated from a marine sandy sediment collected close to shore from the Sea of Japan and subjected to a phenotypic and phylogenetic study. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis confirmed the novel strain's assignment to the genus Marinomonas. Strain KMM 3893(T) constituted a separate phyletic line in the genus Marinomonas, sharing <97 % sequence similarity with respect to other recognized Marinomonas species. Chemotaxonomically, strain KMM 3893(T) contained the predominant fatty acids C(18 : 1)omega7c, C(16 : 1)omega7c and C(16 : 0) and had a DNA G+C content of 50.0 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic analysis and physiological and biochemical characterization, strain KMM 3893(T) represents a novel species of the genus Marinomonas, for which the name Marinomonas arenicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KMM 3893(T) (=NRIC 0752(T) =JCM 15737(T)).