The name S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimiliswas proposed for human isolates, while S. dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae was proposed for animal isolates. Two years later, the name S. dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae forthe alpha haemolytic group C strains and S. dysgalactiaesubsp. equisimilis for the beta-haemolytic strains were been proposed on the basis of DNA–DNA reassociation exper-iments