Abstract
The species of Meranoplus Smith, 1853 of the Arabian Peninsula are reviewed based on the worker caste. Two species are recognized, keyed, and illustrated by Scanning Electron Microscope images (SEM), Meranoplus mosalahi and M. pulcher, Sharaf, 2014. Meranoplus mosalahi sp. n. is described from the Dhofar Governorate, Oman based on the worker caste. The new species belongs to the M. magrettii-group and closely resembles M. pulcher Sharaf, 2014 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), from which it can be distinguished by the bicolored body, the shallowly concave anterior clypeal margin, the absence of well-developed anterior clypeal teeth, the fewer irregular longitudinal cephalic rugae, and the feeble longitudinal rugae on posterior face of petiolar node.
Highlights
The ant genus Meranoplus was established by Smith in 1853, based on the type species M. bicolor (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) (=Cryptocerus bicolor Guérin-Méneville, 1844), by subsequent designation by Bingham (1903)
Species of Meranoplus are diagnosed by the combination of the following characters in the worker caste (Bolton, 1994): antennae 9-segmented, with a 3-segmented terminal club; antennal scrobes well-developed; mandibles armed with 4–5 teeth; the promesonotum, in dorsal view, forms a remarkable wide shield structure expanded laterally and in some species posteriorly; promesonotal shield with lateral and/or posterior spines; petiole sessile; How to cite this article Sharaf MR, Aldawood AS. 2019
The genus Meranoplus in the Arabian Peninsula is known to comprise two species, M. pulcher and M. mosalahi. The former was found in the southwestern mountains of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (Sharaf, Al Dhafer & Aldawood, 2014) and has not been found elsewhere despite extensive collecting efforts
Summary
The ant genus Meranoplus was established by Smith in 1853, based on the type species M. bicolor (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) (=Cryptocerus bicolor Guérin-Méneville, 1844), by subsequent designation by Bingham (1903). Species of Meranoplus are diagnosed by the combination of the following characters in the worker caste (Bolton, 1994): antennae 9-segmented, with a 3-segmented terminal club; antennal scrobes well-developed; mandibles armed with 4–5 teeth; the promesonotum, in dorsal view, forms a remarkable wide shield structure expanded laterally and in some species posteriorly; promesonotal shield with lateral and/or posterior spines; petiole sessile; How to cite this article Sharaf MR, Aldawood AS. The M. magrettii-group is identified by the following characters (Bolton, 1981): mandibles armed with 4–5 teeth; propodeum concealed when seen from above; propodeal spines well-developed; petiole cuneate in profile and without spines; postpetiole broad and nodiform
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