AbstractThe genusEchiniscusC.A.S. Schultze, 1840, one of the earliest established and speciose tardigrade genera, has been hypothesized to be polyphyletic. Moreover, the presence or absence of trunk appendages, the type of cuticular sculpturing and body colour have been argued to hold taxonomic significance at the genus level inEchiniscus‐line taxa. Here, by combining morphological and genetic analyses, we demonstrate that the so‐called “arctomysgroup”, i.e.Echiniscusspp. lacking trunk appendages, comprises numerous separate evolutionary lineages within the family Echiniscidae. As a result, we erect five new echiniscid genera:Barbariagen. nov., presumably of Neotropical (Gondwanan) origin, previously classified as theEchiniscus bigranulatusgroup; the pantropical and subtropicalKristenseniscusgen. nov.(thetessellatusgroup), characterized by a peculiar subdivision of dorsal plates;Claxtoniagen. nov.(thewendtigroup), with large and evident endocuticular pillars in the form of polygons;Nebularmisgen. nov.(thereticulatusgroup), with an elusive dorsal sculpturing; andViridiscusgen. nov.(theviridisgroup), with body colour ranging from light green through brownish to even almost black. Additionally, we briefly address appendagedEchiniscus s.s. and divide the genus into several groups based on dorsal plate sculpturing and suggest that these could also represent separate supraspecific entities.