An aerobic, gram-reaction-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain Z6(T), was isolated from sediment collected at Mohe Basin, China. And its taxonomic position was investigated by applying a polyphasic approach. Growth occurs at 10-45 A degrees C (optimum, 30 A degrees C), at pH 6.0-11.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and in the presence of 0-3.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0 %). The polar lipid profile of strain Z6(T) revealed the presence of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingoglycolipid and two unidentified phospholipids, and the major quinone was Q-10. The major fatty acids were C-18:1 omega 7c and/or C-18:1 omega 6c (summed feature 8) and C-16:1 omega 6c and/or C-16:1 omega 7c (summed feature 3). The predominant polyamine was homospermidine. The DNA G + C content of strain Z6(T) is 65.2 mol%. On the basis of the polyphasic evidence presented, strain Z6(T) represents a novel species of the genus Sphingomonas, for which the name Sphingomonas mohensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Z6(T) (=CGMCC 1.12891(T) = JCM 19983(T)).