356 Records of the S.A. Museum 



the case of ScpuidnriiDii. X'crrill ( 1881 ) su^'gested an aflinity with Loiuju rather 

 than with Sepia. The following year Fischer ( kS8j) established the group in 

 full family standing under the name Idiosepiidac. placing it between the Sepia- 

 dariidae and the Lolic/inidac. The generic name he amended t<> [diosepiiui, l)ut 

 not in a manner which is now held to be permissible. 



Brock (1884, p. 105) referred this genus to the Sepiolidae along with 

 Sepiadaritim and Srpioloidca. but Steenstrup -(,1887) again showed cause for the 

 rejection of this view. 



( )rtniann (1888, p. ()48 ) . in working on Japanese material, recognized the 

 apparent similarity of his specimens tn Idiosrpius. but because he considered them 

 referable to the Sepiolidae. described them as a new genus and species, Micro- 

 teiitlii.'; parodo.ra. There seems little doubt that subsequent authors have been 

 correct in suppressing Mieroteuthis as a complete synonym of Idiosepius, but for 

 reasons to be given on a subsequent page, it is probaljle that the species is per- 

 fectly valid, and will stand as the second of the genus. 



Appellof (1898) made important contributions to our k-nowledf;e of the 

 group, working on extensive material from Ternate. where these little squids 

 apparently occiu' in abundance. He came to the well-supported conclusion that 

 Fischer's recognition of the family as distinct from the Sepiolidae, Sepiidac, or 

 Loliginidae is justifiable, and practically all writers have since followed this view, 

 especially since no further evidence germane to the question has been brought to 

 light. 



A third species was added to the genus liy |on])in I 1894). although he did 

 not at once recognize its affinity with Idio.'iepiu.^ and described it as Loliyo picteti. 

 This form came from Aniboina. 



Jn summing uj) it may be said that tiie Idiosepiidac comprise a monogeneric 

 group of three sliglitly differentiated s])ecies. strictly characteristic of the Indo- 

 Pacific fauna! region, which they are now known to inhabit from the region of 

 Borneo and the l^>anda Sea on the south to southern Japan on the north. To 

 these a fourth species is here added which carries the distribution of the group 

 to the south of the Australian continent (see map, text fig. 2). Unfortunately, 

 of the haljits and ecology of an\' of the species, nothing whatever is known. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES or IIMOSEPH'S. 



a. Tentacles variable, with small clubs, one-third the length of 

 the tentacle or less; ventral arms of male with only a 

 single sucker at base of each . . . . . . . . I 



