A Gram-negative, non-spore-forming bacterium, designated strain BD-d46(T), was isolated from a playground soil sample in Jinju, South Korea. Cells were straight or curved rods and showed catalase- and oxidase-positive reactions. Growth of strain BD-d46(T) was observed between 15 and 35 degrees C (optimum 25-30 degrees C) and between pH 6.5 and 8.0 (optimum pH 7.0-7.5). The predominant fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)omega7c and/or iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH), C(12 : 0) 3-OH and C(16 : 0). Strain BD-d46(T) contained phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol as major polar lipids. Isoprenoid quinones were Q-8 (75 %) and MK-7 (25 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 49.2 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain BD-d46(T) formed a distinct lineage with Rheinheimera chironomi K19414(T) within the genus Rheinheimera. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain BD-d46(T) and the type strains of recognized Rheinheimera species ranged from 94.4 to 96.9 %. On the basis of chemotaxonomic data and molecular properties, strain BD-d46(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Rheinheimera, for which the name Rheinheimera soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BD-d46(T) (=KCTC 22077(T) =DSM 19413(T)).