Vibrio trachuri Iwamoto et al. 1995 is a junior synonym of Vibrio harveyi (Johnson and Shunk 1936) Baumann et al. 1981.

The taxonomic position of Vibrio trachuri was examined through a polyphasic approach using 16S rDNA sequencing, fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphisms (FAFLP), DNA-DNA hybridization experiments, G+C content of DNA and phenotypical tests. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Vibrio harveyi is the closest neighbour of V. trachuri, sharing about 98.8% similarity in the 16S rDNA gene. Moreover, numerical analysis of the FAFLP patterns revealed that both species have highly related genomes, sharing 55% pattern similarity. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments and G+C content measurements reinforced these results, since V. trachuri and V. harveyi had at least 74% DNA similarity and 44.5-45.2 mol % G+C. Phenotypical features of both species were also very similar, except that V. trachuri utilized itaconic acid, whereas V. harveyi did not. Therefore, it is proposed that the species V. trachuri should be reclassified as V. harveyi.