Meranoplus nanus

Meranoplus nanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Meranoplus
Species:	M. nanus
Binomial name
	Meranoplus nanus; André, 1892 Specimen Label

Identification

The propodeum in profile nearly vertical, armed at about the mid-depth with a pair of short, stout spines.

Mandibles striate, armed with four teeth. Anterior clypeal margin with a narrow translucent apron and with a longitudinal carina on each side of the median portion which runs forwards to the apron. Anterior half of clypeus usually shallowly concave between these carinae.

Keys including this Species

Key to Afrotropical Meranoplus species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -2.234166667° to -24.76667°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon (type locality), Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania.

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

nanus. Meranoplus nanus André, 1892a: 55 (w.) GABON.
- Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
- Type-locality: Gabon: (no further data) (Mocquerys).
- Type-depository: MNHN.
- Santschi, 1914d: 351 (q.).
- Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 137; Santschi, 1914d: 351; Arnold, 1917: 365; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 888; Emery, 1924d: 227; Bolton, 1981a: 53 (redescription); Bolton, 1995b: 251.
- Distribution: Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Tanzania.

Description

References

André, E. 1892a. Matériaux myrmécologiques. Rev. Entomol. (Caen) 11: 45-56.(page 55, worker described)

Bolton, B. 1981a. A revision of the ant genera Meranoplus F. Smith, Dicroaspis Emery and Calyptomyrmex Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian zoogeographical region. Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Entomol. 42: 43-81.

Radchenko, A.G., Fisher, B.L., Esteves, F.A., Martynova, E.V., Bazhenova, T.N., Lasarenko, S.N. 2023. Ant type specimens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the collection of Volodymyr Opanasovych Karawajew. Communication 1. Dorylinae, Poneromorpha and Pseudomyrmecinae. Zootaxa, 5244(1), 1–32 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5244.1.1).
Santschi, F. 1914d. Formicides de l'Afrique occidentale et australe du voyage de Mr. le Professeur F. Silvestri. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 8: 309-385 (page 351, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

André E. 1892. Matériaux myrmécologiques. Rev. Entomol. (Caen) 11: 45-56.
Bernard F. 1953. La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 19: 165-270.
Bolton B. 1981. A revision of the ant genera Meranoplus F. Smith, Dicroaspis Emery and Calyptomyrmex Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian zoogeographical region. Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Entomol. 42: 43-81.
Medler J. T. 1980: Insects of Nigeria - Check list and bibliography. Mem. Amer. Ent. Inst. 30: i-vii, 1-919.
Santschi F. 1914. Formicides de l'Afrique occidentale et australe du voyage de Mr. le Professeur F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 8: 309-385.
Taylor B. 1979. Ants of the Nigerian Forest Zone (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). III. Myrmicinae (Cardiocondylini to Meranoplini). Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria Research Bulletin 6: 1-65.
Weber N. A. 1943. The ants of the Imatong Mountains, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 93: 263-389.
Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004