This Gram positive coccus is found in tetrads, irregular clusters, and cubical packets of eight. Colonies are pigmented. It is catalase positive, oxidase positive, and exhibits strictly aerobic metabolism. Able to use glucose aerobically. Optimum growth temperature is 25-37 C. It is primarily isolated from soil and water, but has been implicated in occasional urinary tract infections in immunocompromised patients. Once considered a species of the genus Micrococcus.