<jats:p>The taxonomic position was determined for a soil actinomycete, isolate KM-4927<jats:sup>T</jats:sup>, that produced the antibiotic hitachimycin. The strain was assigned to the genus <jats:italic>Streptomyces</jats:italic> on the basis of 16S rDNA analysis, where it formed a separate clade. The strain is characterized by grey aerial cell mass, spiral spore chains and a rugose spore surface, menaquinones of the MK-9(H<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>, H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>, H<jats:sub>6</jats:sub>) types and cell-wall chemotype I. DNA–DNA reassociation with 21 phylogenetically neighbouring <jats:italic>Streptomyces</jats:italic> type strains showing similar morphological characteristics to strain KM-4927<jats:sup>T</jats:sup> indicated that this isolate is only moderately related to other <jats:italic>Streptomyces</jats:italic> species. On the basis of genomic and physiological properties, the novel species <jats:italic>Streptomyces scabrisporus</jats:italic> sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is strain KM-4927<jats:sup>T</jats:sup> (=JCM 11712<jats:sup>T</jats:sup>=NRRL B-24202<jats:sup>T</jats:sup>).