Johnius belangerii ( Cuvier, 1830 )

Hanafi, Norhafiz, Chen, Meng-Hsien, Chang, Chih-Wei, Chao, Ning Labbish & Seah, Ying Giat, 2024, Taxonomic review of the genus Johnius (Perciformes: Sciaenidae) from East Malaysian waters, with comments on newly recorded Johnius species, Zootaxa 5550 (1), pp. 85-117 : 96-97

Johnius belangerii ( Cuvier, 1830)

(Common name: Belanger croaker)

( Fig. 6 , Table 6 )

Corvina belengerii Cuvier 1830: 120 (type locality: Malabar , India. Syntypes: MNHN 0000-761).

Johnius belangerii ( Cuvier, 1830) : Mohsin & Ambak, 1996: 366; Chin, 1998: 138; Sasaki, 2000: 621; Sasaki, 2001: 3141; Lim, 2009: 200; Mohamad Faisal, 2009: 97; Ambak et al. 2010: 174; Lim et al. 2018: 138; Seah et al. 2021: 100.

Johnius dussumieri (non of Cuvier, 1830): Atan et al. 2010: 195.

Material examined. Non-types: NMMB-P37077 (5, 129.9 to 156.92 mm SL), Miri , Sarawak, Malaysia, 7 March 2017 ; NMMB-P37078 (4, 131.24 to 152 mm SL), Kota Kinabalu , Sabah, Malaysia, 4 March 2017 ; NMMB-P37079 (2, 130.33 to 154 mm SL), Sibu , Sarawak, Malaysia, 12 March 2017 ; NMMB-P21552 (4, 97.25 to 182.5 mm SL) , NMMB-P26493 (2, 115.59 to 133 mm SL), Tanjung Piandang , Perak, Malaysia, 2 June 2014 ; NMMB-P31394 (8, 147.37 to 164.73 mm SL), Muar , Johor, Malaysia, 19 March 2019 ; NMMB-P26511 (3, 107.65 to 133.41 mm SL) , NMMB-P26499 (3, 89.68 to 101.31 mm SL), Kuala Kurau , Perak, Malaysia, 4 June 2014 ; NMMB-P21522 (8, 82.1 to 117.08 mm SL), Kuala Kurau , Perak, Malaysia, 8 June 2014 ; NMMB-P28323 (110.9 mm SL), Kuala Kurau , Perak, Malaysia, 2 June 2014 ; NMMB-P26496 (3, 106.46 to 113.27 mm SL), Kuala Kurau , Perak, Malaysia, 23 November 2014 ; NMMB-P26510 (3, 98.35 to 155.89 mm SL) , NMMB-P21533 (5, 80.41 to 129.42 mm SL) , NMMB-P26523 (4, 71.4 to 78.01 mm SL), Pantai Remis , Perak, Malaysia, 4–6 June 2014 ; NMMB-P26513 (3, 119.45 to 141.37 mm SL) , NMMB-P27638 (127.8 mm SL), Sungai Udang , Perak, Malaysia, 19 January 2015 ; NMMB-P21713 (144.72 mm SL) , NMMB-P21714 (30, 92.18 to 145.95 mm SL), Matang , Perak, Malaysia, 21 April 2011 ; NMMB-P21536 (141.34 mm SL), Bagan Panchor , Perak, Malaysia, 5 June 2014 .

Diagnosis. A species of Johnius with the following combination of characters: snout steep, obtusely rounded, slightly projecting in front of upper jaw; mouth small, inferior; lower jaw with a band of villiform teeth; gill rakers very short, club-shaped, less than 1/2 length of gill filaments at angle of arch, 8 to 10 on lower limb of first gill arch; second spine long, stiff, 31 to 45% of head length; and scales moderately small, 7 to 11 scale rows above lateral line to origin of dorsal fin, 12 to 17 scale rows below lateral line to origin of anal fin ( Hanafi et al., 2023).

Distribution. Indo-West Pacific, west to the Persian Gulf, east to southern China and Indonesia.

Remarks. Johnius belangerii is a common species distribute in the East Malaysian waters, also in the Taiwanese waters ( Hanafi et al. 2023). It was abundantly collected from several sites off the Sarawak states, but few in Sabah states. This might due to ecological sandy and muddy area distribution available for this species to distribute. The variation in the shape band pattern observed in this species throughout collection sites implies it is a morphologically complex species ( Hanafi et al., 2023).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Photographs of the comparative materials. Johnius belangerii NMMB-P 37077, 130 mm SL, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia, 7 March 2017.