''Multipseudechiniscus raneyi'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them . In 1776, th ...

. It is the only species of ''Multipseudechiniscus'', a genus within the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Echiniscidae The Echiniscidae are a family of tardigrades, a phylum of water-dwelling, eight-legged, segmented micro-animals. It is one of the four families in the order Echiniscoidea.

. The species was first described as '' Pseudechiniscus raneyi'' by Albert A. Grigarick, Franc Mihelčič & Robert O. Schuster in 1964. It was placed in the new genus ''Multipseudechiniscus'' in 2011. The species occurs in the western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in the states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

.Miller, Schulte & Johansson, 2012 :
Tardigrades of North America: further description of the genus Multipseudechiniscus Schulte & Miller, 2011 (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscoidea: Echiniscidae) from California.
' Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, vol. 125, no 2, p. 153-164.

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