Meranoplus doddi

This Australian species is known only from queens.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 * . Meranoplus aerolus st. doddi Santschi, 1928e: 469 (q.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
 * [Note: aerolus is a misspelling of aureolus.]
 * Type-material: lectotype queen (by designation of Taylor, 1990c: 38), 4 paralectotype queens.
 * Type-locality: lectotype Australia: Queensland, Townsville, 25.v.1922 (F.P. Dodd); paralectotypes with same data.
 * Type-depositories: NHMB (lectotype); ANIC, NHMB (paralectotypes).
 * Subspecies of aureolus: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 66; Taylor, 1987a: 38.
 * Status as species: Taylor, 1990c: 38.
 * Species inquirenda, incertae sedis in Meranoplus: Taylor, 1990c: 38; Bolton, 1995b: 251.
 * Distribution: Australia.

Type Material


Taylor (1990): Four dealate syntype queens [Townsville (19/146), Qld, NHMB] are considered here not to be conspecific with available types of Meranoplus aureolus or Meranoplus linae, and I have been unable to match them with worker-associated queens. They seem unlikely to be females of any named worker-based species, but queens of most are unknown for comparison in any case. M. doddi is thus probably valid, but, except for the purposes of identifying further conspecific queens, it should be considered a species inquirenda until workers associated with queens matching the types are available for study. A lectotype and 4 paralectotypes are here designated, and a paralectotype has been donated to the ANIC by the NHMB. The types were erroneously reported to be workers by Taylor & D. R. Brown (1985).