A novel sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain J2(T), was isolated from a serpentinized peridotite sample from the Indian Ocean. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain J2(T) clustered with the genus Desulfovibrio within the family Desulfovibrionaceae, but it showed low similarity (87.95 %) to the type species Desulfovibrio desulfuricans DSM 642(T). It was most closely related to Desulfovibrio portus MSL79(T) (96.96 %), followed by Desulfovibrio aespoeensis Aspo-2(T) (96.11 %), Desulfovibrio piezophilus C1TLV30(T) (96.04 %) and Desulfovibrio profundus DSM 11384(T) (95.17 %). Other available sequences shared less than 93.33 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Cells were Gram-staining-negative, anaerobic, motile vibrios (2-6 x 0.4-0.6 mu m). Growth was observed at salinities ranging from 0.2 to 6 % (optimum 2.5 %), from pH 5 to 8 (optimum pH 6.5-7) and at temperatures between 9 and 40 degrees C (optimum 30-35 degrees C). J2(T) was piezophilic, growing optimally at 10 MPa (range 0-30 MPa). J2(T) used lactate, malate, pyruvate, formate and hydrogen as energy sources. Sulfate, thiosulfate, sulfite, fumarate and nitrate were used as terminal electron acceptors. Lactate and pyruvate were fermented. The main fatty acids were iso-C-15:0, anteiso-C-15:0, summed feature 9 (iso-C-17:1 omega 9c and/or C-16:0 10-methyl) and iso-C-17:0. The DNA G+C content of strain J2(T) was 63.5 mol%. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data show that strain J2(T) represents a novel species of a novel genus in the family Desulfovibrionaceae, for which the name Pseudodesulfovibrio indicus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain J2(T) (= MCCC 1A01867(T) = DSM 101483(T)). We also propose the reclassification of D. piezophilus as Pseudodesulfovibrio piezophilus comb. nov., D. profundus as Pseudodesulfovibrio profundus comb. nov., D. portus as Pseudodesulfovibrio portus comb. nov. and D. aespoeensis as Pseudodesulfovibrio aespoeensis comb. nov.