In the course of a polyphasic study it was observed that 'Dactylosporangium variesporum' NRRL B-16296 is misclassified in the genus Dactylosporangium as it exhibits properties consistent with its assignment to the genus Saccharothrix. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences show that the strain falls within the evolutionary radiation of the genus Saccharothrix, a result which is supported by corresponding chemotaxonomic and morphological markers. The strain is phylogenetically most closely, albeit loosely, related to Saccharothrix espanaensis, but can be readily distinguished from this and other species of the genus Saccharothrix with validly described names by using a range of phenotypic properties. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data demonstrate conclusively that this strain should be classified as a new species in the genus Saccharothrix for which the name Saccharothrix variisporea sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NRRL B-16296(T) (=ATCC 31203(T) =DSM 43911(T) =JCM 3273(T) =NBRC 14104(T)).