Meranoplus spinosus

Meranoplus spinosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Meranoplus
Species:	M. spinosus
Binomial name
Meranoplus spinosus Smith, F., 1859 Specimen Labels

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -8.75° to -8.767°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia (type locality), New Guinea.

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.

Nomenclature

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

• spinosus. Meranoplus spinosus Smith, F. 1859a: 150 (w.) INDONESIA (Aru Is).
  • Type-material: holotype worker.
  • [Note: specimen supposedly the worker holotype of Meranoplus spinosus (OXUM, examined) is actually a queen of a Neotropical Procryptocerus species. Therefore, either the type-locality is in error (unlikely), or the specimen has been changed, or perhaps both (Bolton, 1995b: 367).]
  • Type-locality: Indonesia: Aru Is (A.R. Wallace).
  • Type-depository: OXUM.
  • Combination in Procryptocerus: Donisthorpe, 1932c: 456;
  • combination in Meranoplus: Chapman & Capco, 1951: 113.
  • Status as species: Smith, F. 1862d: 413; Roger, 1863b: 39; Mayr, 1863: 428; Smith, F. 1871a: 334; Emery, 1897d: 569; Emery, 1924d: 228; Donisthorpe, 1932c: 456; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 113; Bolton, 1995b: 367.
  • Distribution: Indonesia (Aru).

The following notes on F. Smith type specimens have been provided by Barry Bolton (details):

TYPE-MATERIAL NOT FOUND

Type-material should be a holotype worker in Oxford University Museum of Natural History, from “Aru.” The specimen labelled as holotype of spinosus in OXUM is a queen of a Procryptocerus species, labelled “Aroo.” Donisthorpe (1932c: 456) chose to accept this queen as the holotype and listed: “Meranoplus spinosus Smith l.c. p. 150, Worker, Aru; Dalla Torre l.c. clxxiv. C, p. 228 (1922) = Procryptocerus spinosus Smith. 1 dealated queen, “Aroo.”

This is entirely unacceptable because:

• Smith’s original description is definitely of a worker.
• The original description is good enough to tell that the specimen is a Meranoplus.
• Procryptocerus is restricted to the Neotropics.

It must be concluded that either the label has been switched to the wrong specimen in the past, or that the original specimen was lost or destroyed and replaced with an incorrect substitute. Whichever, the genuine holotype of M. spinosus is lost.

References

• Donisthorpe, H. 1932c. On the identity of Smith's types of Formicidae (Hymenoptera) collected by Alfred Russell Wallace in the Malay Archipelago, with descriptions of two new species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 10(10): 441-476 (page 456, Combination in Procryptocerus)
• Smith, F. 1859a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace at the islands of Aru and Key. [part]. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 3: 132-158 (page 150, worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Room P. M. 1975. Diversity and organization of the ground foraging ant faunas of forest, grassland and tree crops in Papua Nez Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 23: 71-89.
• Room, P.M. 1975. Relative Distributions of Ant Species in Cocoa Plantations in Papua New Guinea Relative Distributions of Ant Species in Cocoa Plantations in Papua New Guinea. Journal of Applied Ecology 12(1):47-61
• Viehmeyer H. 1912. Ameisen aus Deutsch Neuguinea gesammelt von Dr. O. Schlaginhaufen. Nebst einem Verzeichnisse der papuanischen Arten. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologische-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden 14: 1-26.
• Wilson E. O. 1959. Some ecological characteristics of ants in New Guinea rain forests. Ecology 40: 437-447.