ABSTRACTWe investigated the phylogenetic diversity and community structure of members of the halophilicArchaea(orderHalobacteriales) in five distinct sediment habitats that experience various levels of salinity and salinity fluctuations (sediments from Great Salt Plains and Zodletone Spring in Oklahoma, mangrove tree sediments in Puerto Rico, sediment underneath salt heaps in a salt-processing plant, and sediments from the Great Salt Lake northern arm) usingHalobacteriales-specific 16S rRNA gene primers. Extremely diverseHalobacterialescommunities were encountered in all habitats, with 27 (Zodletone) to 37 (mangrove) different genera identified per sample, out of the currently described 38Halobacterialesgenera. With the exception of Zodletone Spring, where the prevalent geochemical conditions are extremely inhospitable toHalobacterialessurvival, habitats with fluctuating salinity levels were more diverse than permanently saline habitats. Sequences affiliated with the recently described generaHalogranum,Halolamina,Haloplanus,Halosarcina, andHalorientalis, in addition to the generaHalorubrum,Haloferax, andHalobacterium, were among the most abundant and ubiquitous genera, suggesting a wide distribution of these poorly studied genera in saline sediments. TheHalobacterialessediment communities analyzed in this study were more diverse than and completely distinct from communities from typical hypersaline water bodies. Finally, sequences unaffiliated with currently described genera represented a small fraction of the totalHalobacterialescommunities, ranging between 2.5% (Zodletone) to 7.0% (mangrove and Great Salt Lake). However, these novel sequences were characterized by remarkably high levels of alpha and beta diversities, suggesting the presence of an enormous, yet-untapped supply of novelHalobacterialesgenera within the rare biosphere of various saline ecosystems.