These bacteria were isolated in 2000 from a quartz stone sublithic cyanobacterial community in Vestfold Hills, a mostly snow- and ice-free outcrop in the Antarctic. The hills are located at the north side of Sorsdal Glacier on Ingrid Christensen Coast. Cells are non-motile, orange rods 0.5-20.0 X 4.0-5 um. Metabolism is strictly aerobic and chemoheterotrophic and requires sodium ions for growth (between 1.0% and 6% NaCl). Unable to hydrolyse starch, aesculin, agar, cellulose, CMC, xylan, dextran, DNA, tributyrin, urate, xanthine, casein or elastin, nor can it utilize D-glucose as a sole carbon and energy source in the presence of 0.02% yeast extract. This is the type strain for the species (adapted from wikipedia and PMID 12361255).