Two methods, based on analysis of the polymerase chain reaction-amplified 16S rRNA gene by restriction enzyme analysis (REA) or direct cycle sequencing, were developed for rapid identification of mycobacteria isolated from animals and were compared to traditional phenotypic typing. BACTEC 7H12 cultures of the specimens were examined for "cording," and specific polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed to identify the presence of tubercle complex mycobacteria. Combined results of separate REAs with HhaI, MspI, MboI, and ThaI differentiated 12 of 15 mycobacterial species tested. HhaI, MspI, and ThaI restriction enzyme profiles differentiated Actinobacillus species from mycobacterial species. Mycobacterium bovis could not be differentiated from M. bovis BCG or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Similarly, Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis could not be distinguished from each other by REA but were differentiated by cycle sequencing. Compared with traditional typing, both methods allowed rapid and more accurate identification of acid-fast organisms recovered from 21 specimens of bovine and badger origin. Two groups of isolates were not typed definitively by either molecular method. One group of four isolates may constitute a new species phylogenetically very closely related to Mycobacterium simiae. The remaining unidentified isolates (three badger and one bovine) had identical restriction enzyme profiles and shared 100% nucleotide identify over the sequenced signature region. This nucleotide sequence most closely resembled the data base sequence of Mycobacterium senegalense.