Currently, there are 11 recognized species of ''Pediococcus''. They are ''P. acidilactici'', ''P. argentinicus'', ''P. cellicola'', ''P. claussenii'', ''P. damnosus'', ''P. ethanolidurans'', ''P. inopinatus'', ''P. parvulus'', ''P. pentosaceus'' (subspecies ''pentosaceus'' and ''intermedius''), ''P. siamensis'', and ''P. stilesii''. ''P. cerevisiae'' was reclassified into either ''P. damnosus'' or ''P. pentosaceus''. Other species of ''Pediococcus'' have also been reclassified to other genera in the last couple of decades. ''P. dextrinicus'' is now classified as ''Lactobacillus dextrinicus'', ''P. urinae-equi'' is now classified as ''Aerococcus urinae‐equi'', and ''P. halophilis'' is now classified as ''Tetragenococcus halophilis'' <ref name="Wade_2018" />.
pediococci Pediococci are described as coccoidal (spherical) or ovoid (egg-shaped) in shape. They are Gram-positive, non-motile (not capable of moving on their own), and non-spore forming. They are obligate homofermentive and typically do not produce CO<sub>2</sub>, ethanol, or acetic acid, although there are a few exceptions to this in the literature. They do not produce [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalase catalase] (except for some ''P. pentocaseus'' strains which were reported to have pseudo-catalase activity by Simpson and Taguchi 1995) or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidase oxidase] enzymes. Because of the way that ''Pedioccous'' cells divide, they often appear stuck together in pairs or clumps. They are the only lactic acid bacteria found in wine and beer to do this, so they are easily identifiable at the genus level under a microscope based on their tendency to clump together. See [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajgw.12366 table 2 from Wade et al. (2018)] for more species identification indicators and what carbohydrates different species can ferment <ref name="Wade_2018" />.
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