Oreella

{{Short description|Genus of tardigrades}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image =

| image_caption =

| parent_authority = Ramazzotti, 1962

| taxon = Oreella

| authority = Murray, 1910

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

}}

Oreella is a genus of tardigrades in the family Oreellidae. It is the only genus of that family. It was named and described by James Murray in 1920; the family Oreellidae was named and described by Giuseppe Ramazzotti in 1962.{{Cite work|last=Degma |last2=Bertolani |last3=Guidetti |date=30 June 2018|title=Actual checklist of Tardigrada species (2009-2018) |url=http://www.tardigrada.modena.unimo.it/miscellanea/Actual%20checklist%20of%20Tardigrada.pdf |publisher=University of Modena |version=34th Ed.|access-date=23 November 2018 }} Ramazzotti gave the first modern description of the genus with his findings on O. minor, which was differentiated from another species by the name of O. mollis by its smaller size, spur presence on internal claws, and briefer stylets.{{Cite journal|last=Dastych|first=Hieronymus|last2=McInnes|first2=Sandra J.|last3=Claxton|first3=Sandra K.|date=1998|title=Oreella mollis Murray, 1910 (Tardigrada_: a redescription and revision of Oreella|url=http://www.uni-hamburg.de/biologie/BioZ/zmh/1998_Dastych_McInnes.pdf|journal=Mitteilungen aus den Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut|volume=95|pages=89–113}} Characteristics such as these can be considered as insufficient evidence of the delineation between species, however the differences in size of O. minor (≤170 μm) and O. mollis (≤251 μm), as well as the presence of the aforementioned claw spurs, would be considered notable features.