Pseudechiniscus is a morphologically homogeneous genus of tardigrades. The morphological features commonly used for species discrimination in this genus are the dorsal sculpture, the shape and number of dorsal plates and trunk appendages. Species of the Pseudechiniscus suillus–facettalis complex are one of the most challenging tardigrades to identify. All species are similar in their general appearance and all lack trunk appendages. Moreover, not only the nominal Pseudechiniscus suillus, but also other members of the suillus–facettalis complex have been insufficiently described. In our study, we examined several populations from the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres that could be traditionally attributed to Pse. suillus. These populations were analysed using integrative taxonomy – a combination of classical morphology and morphometry with molecular data. Besides the differences in the dorsal sculpture and morphometry, we also found species-specific differences in ventral sculpture, which were originally used for discrimination of Pseudechiniscus species. Moreover, we provide an extensive discussion on all morphological and morphometric differences used in Pseudechiniscus taxonomy and indicate main taxonomic problems with this genus. Finally, we redescribe the nominal Pse. suillus from Italy.

中文翻译：

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在高度多样性Pseudechiniscus乳牛- facettalis复杂（Heterotardigrada：Echiniscidae）上属的形态言论Pseudechiniscus

假单胞菌属（Pseudechiniscus）是形态上均一的缓步菌属。该属中通常用于物种识别的形态学特征是背雕塑，背板和躯干附件的形状和数量。该物种Pseudechiniscus乳牛- facettalis复杂是最具挑战性缓步，以确定之一。所有种类在外观上都相似，都没有躯干附属物。此外，不仅标称Pseudechiniscus乳牛，也是其他成员乳牛- facettalis复杂的描述不足。在我们的研究中，我们研究了北半球和南半球的一些人口，这些人口传统上可以归因于Pse。牛肝菌。使用综合分类法对这些种群进行了分析，这是经典形态学和形态计量学与分子数据的结合。除了背侧雕塑和形态测量上的差异外，我们还在腹侧雕塑中发现了特定于物种的差异，该差异最初用于区分假单胞菌属。此外，我们对假单胞菌分类学中使用的所有形态学和形态学差异进行了广泛讨论，并指出了该属的主要分类学问题。最后，我们重新描述名义se 意大利的牛肝菌。