The taxonomic position of two soil actinomycetes, strains A2012(T) and A2019(T), isolated from Turkish soils, was determined using a polyphasic approach. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the strains belonged to the family Nocardiaceae. Strains A2012(T) and A2019(T) were most closely related to Nocardia caishijiensis DSM 44831(T) (98.9 %) and Nocardia mexicana CIP 108295(T) (98.6 %), respectively; similarity to other type strains of the genus Nocardia ranged from 96.9 to 97.9 %. However, DNA-DNA relatedness and phenotypic data demonstrated that strains A2012(T) and A2019(T) could be clearly distinguished from members of the most closely related Nocardia species. It is evident from the genotypic and phenotypic data that the two isolates represent two novel species of the genus Nocardia. It is proposed, therefore, that strains A2012(T) and A2019(T) be classified in the genus Nocardia as representatives of Nocardia goodfellowii sp. nov. (type strain A2012(T) = DSM 45516(T) = NRRL B-24833(T) = KCTC 19986(T)) and Nocardia thraciensis sp. nov. (type strain A2019(T) = DSM 45517(T) = NRRL B-24834(T) = KCTC 19985(T)), respectively.