The genus Alishewanella is one of the major branches of the family Alteromonadaceae. It was proposed to accommodate A. fetalis, isolated from an autopsy of a human fetus, in 2000. In 2009, A. aestuarii was isolated from tidal flat sediment and indicated as being a representative of Alishewanella. The third Alishewanella species was isolated from gajami sikhae, a Korean fermented food, in 2009 and was given the name A. jeotgali. Most recently, in 2010, the fourth currently isolated species of Alishewanella, A. agri, was isolated from landfill soil in Korea. Currently these are the only four isolated and characterized species of the genus Alishewanella.