Proposal to designate Methylothermus subterraneus Hirayama et al. 2011 as the type species of the genus Methylothermus. Request for an Opinion.

Methylothermus thermalis, the designated type species of the genus Methylothermus, is not available from culture collections and its nomenclatural type is a patent strain. According to Rule 20a of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes only species whose names are legitimate may serve as types of genera. Therefore the name Methylothermus and the names of the species Methylothermus thermalis and Methylothermus subterraneous are not validly published and are illegitimate. We therefore submit a Request for an Opinion to the Judicial Commission of the ICSP to consider the later named Methylothermus subterraneus as the new type species of the genus Methylothermus based on Rule 20e(2).