The comparative analysis of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) of Geodermatophilus obscurus DSM 43060 and Dermatophilus congolensis DSM 43037 revealed that these members of the family Dermatophilaceae were only remotely related. While G. obscurus represented an individual and separate line of descent within the phylogenetically defined order Actinomycetales, D. congolensis was closely related to representatives of Arthrobacter, Micrococcus, Cellulomonas, Brevibacterium, Promicromonospora and Microbacterium.