Johnius sasakii Hanafi, Chao, Seah, Chen, Chang and Liu, 2021

(Common name: Sasaki croaker)

(Fig. 13, Table 7)

Johnius sasakii Hanafi et al. 2022: 397 (type locality: Fish landing port at Bako, Sarawak.)

Material examined. Type specimens: Holotype. NMMB-P 34733, 1 [111 mm SL], fish landing port at Bako, Sarawak collected by Norhafiz Hanafi on 17 March 2017 . Paratypes. NMMB-P 34734, 1 (110 mm SL), fish landing port at Betangor, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected by Norhafiz Hanafi, 14 March 2017 . NMMB-P 34735, 3 (103– 108 mm SL), fish landing port at Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, collected by Norhafiz Hanafi, 27 February 2017 . NMMB-P 34736, 1 (134 mm SL), fish landing port at Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected by Norhafiz Hanafi, 9 March 2017 . NMMB-P 34737, 5 (122–147 mm SL),) fish landing port at Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected by Norhafiz Hanafi, 11 March 2017 . NMMB-P 34738, 4 (105–118 mm SL), fish landing port at Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia, collected by Norhafiz Hanafi, 7 March 2017 . NMMB-P 34739, 3 (100– 146 mm SL), fish landing port at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, collected by Norhafiz Hanafi, 4 March 2017 .

Non-types: NMMB-P37092 (2, 123.32 to 125.46 mm SL), Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia, 7 March 2017 ; NMMB-P37093 (6, 113.39 to 130.95 mm SL), Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia, 23 February 2017 ; NMMB-P37094 (10, 103.67 to 138.71 mm SL), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, 4 March 2017 ; NMMB-P37095 (3, 100.03 to 130.27 mm SL), Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, 26–27 February 2017 .

Diagnosis. A species of Johnius with the following combination of characters: number of total outer gill rakers of 1 st arch, 8 to 10 (mode 9); second anal spine short and stiff, 25 to 35% SL; body depth moderately deep, 25 to 29% SL; the number of scale rows above lateral line, 4–6 (mode 5); body scales moderately large and ctenoid; and snout bluntly rounded.

Distribution. Western Pacific: Sarawak and Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia.

Remarks. Johnius sasakii can be distinguished from sympatric congener species, J. carouna and J. heterolepis, by the second anal spine rather short and stiff (vs long, stiff, in carouna and short, slender in heterolepis) and the gill raker short, stiff, and lower count, 8 to 10 (vs short, stiff, 10 to 12 in carouna and 9 to 11 in heterolepis). Johnius sasakii also is a common species, and abundant stretching from Sabah and Sarawak states. It can be was collected at several sites of the Sandakan until Kuching (Hanafi et al. 2022).