A novel Gram-positive, aerobic, motile, hemolytic, endospore-forming and rod-shaped bacterium TW25(T) was isolated from a dead ark clam during a mass mortality event on the South coast of Korea. The strain grew optimally at 30°C, at pH 8-9, and with 1% (w/v) NaCl. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain TW25(T) was associated with the genus Ornithinibacillus and that it was most closely related to the type strain of Ornithinibacillus californiensis (98.5% similarity). The dominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15:0, anteiso-C15:0 and C16:0. The peptidoglycan amino acid type was A4β, containing L: -ornithine and D: -aspartic acid. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, four unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified aminolipids and two unidentified lipids. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7 (MK-7). The G + C content of genomic DNA was 36.7 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments with related strains revealed lower than 11 ± 3% relatedness. Based on this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain TW25(T) represents a novel species in the genus Ornithinibacillus, for which the name Ornithinibacillus scapharcae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TW25(T) (=KACC 15116(T) = JCM 17314(T)).