From the nose of a patient with aspiration pneumonia, we isolated a new bacterium by amoebal co-culture using Acanthamoeba polyphaga. Based on phenotypic, 16S rRNA and phylogenetic analysis, we show that this isolate represents a new species within the genus Rhodobacter and and we have named it Rhodobacter massiliensis. The type strain has been deposited in the Collection de l'Institut Pasteur, Paris, France (CIP 107725), and in the Culture Collection of the University of Goteborg, Sweden (CCUG 47968), as strain Framboise.