Japanese Pygmy Cuttlefish
Idiosepius paradoxus
- Water temperature19–29 °C
- Best monthsApril, June, and August
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Chaloklum Diving, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Idiosepius paradoxus, also known as the northern pygmy squid, is a species of pygmy squid native to the western Pacific Ocean. This species can be found inhabiting shallow, inshore waters around central China, South Korea, and Japan.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Idiosepius paradoxus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 2 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 1 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 3 records
- June: 4 records
- July: 1 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 2 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 19–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Japanese Pygmy Cuttlefish, Northern Pygmy Idiosepiid, Northern Pygmy Squid, Paradoxical Pygmy Squid
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- ヒメイカ
- Korean
- 꼬마오징어
Other scientific names: Microteuthis paradoxus
Similar species
Mozambique Pygmy IdiosepiidIdiosepius minimus
Thumbnail SquidIdiosepius pygmaeus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 28 open-data records from 1907 to 2018.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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