We studied the morphology and variability of Ilyocryptus spinifer Herrick, 1882 from different parts of the world using optical microscopy and SEM, re-examining type material wherever possible. Morphometric analysis failed to reveal significant regional differences between populations. The following species names for members of Ilyocryptus spinifer group, I. halyi Brady, 1886; I. longiremis Sars, 1888; I. immundus F. Mueller in Ihering, 1895; I. verrucosus Daday, 1905; and I. tetraspinatus Berganim, 1939, are junior synonyms of I. spinifer. A new species from this group is described from Queensland, Australia. Ilyocryptus timmsi n. sp. shows unique morphological characters in the armature of the lateral swimming setae of the antennal endopod, its apical segment and the postabdominal claws.