An ovoid-rod-shaped, phototrophic, purple non-sulfur bacterium, designated strain JA322(T), was isolated in pure culture from a water sample collected from a saline pond with purple-coloured water, located near Satpada in Orissa, India. Strain JA322(T) was Gram-negative and non-motile and grew photoheterotrophically with a number of organic compounds serving as carbon sources or electron donors. Intracellular photosynthetic membranes were of the vesicular type. Bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the spheroidene series were present as photosynthetic pigments. Biotin and thiamine were required for growth of strain JA322(T). Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JA322(T) was related most closely to the type strains of Rhodovulum euryhalinum (95.8 % similarity) and Rhodovulum strictum (94.8 %) and clustered with species of the genus Rhodovulum of the family Rhodobacteraceae. On the basis of phenotypic and molecular genetic evidence, it is suggested that strain JA322(T) represents a novel species of the genus Rhodovulum, for which the name Rhodovulum lacipunicei sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JA322(T) (=NBRC 104147(T)=KCTC 5700(T)).