Paulinella is a genus of at least eleven species including both freshwater and marine amoeboids. Like many members of euglyphids it is covered by rows of siliceous scales, and use filose pseudopods to crawl over the substrate of the benthic zone.

An amoeba, often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods. Amoebae do not form a single taxonomic group; instead, they are found in every major lineage of eukaryotic organisms. Amoeboid cells occur not only among the protozoa, but also in fungi, algae, and animals.