A pinkish-pigmented, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacterium, strain E92^T, was isolated from the skin of the medical leech Hirudo medicinalis, on R2A agar. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of strain E92^T showed a relatively low 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (93.0–93.5 %) to representatives of the genus Arcicella and 91.5–92.0 % to members of the genus Flectobacillus . The polar lipid profile was composed of the major compounds phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid, an unidentified aminolipid and an unidentified polar lipid; glycolipids were not detected. The major quinone was menquinone MK-7, and the major compound in the polyamine pattern was spermidine. The predominant fatty acids were C_{16 : 1}ω5c and C_{16 : 1}ω7c and/or iso-C_{15 : 0} 2-OH (detected as summed feature 3). The isolate did not contain C_{14 : 0} or the hydroxyl fatty acid iso-C_{17 : 0} 3-OH found in all representatives of the genera Arcicella and Flectobacillus , but did produce C_{18 : 1}ω7c and 11-methyl C_{18 : 1}ω7c which are not found in these two genera. The DNA G+C content of strain E92^T was 64.4 mol%. The unique 16S rRNA gene sequence, and specific chemotaxonomic and physiological data revealed that strain E92^T represents a new genus in the family Cytophagaceae for which we propose the name Pseudarcicella hirudinis gen. nov., sp. nov., with the type strain of the type species as E92^T ( = LMG 26720^T = CCM 7988^T).