Review of the ant genusMeranoplusSmith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula with description of a new speciesM. mosalahisp. n. from Oman
The species ofMeranoplusSmith, 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 mosalahiandM. pulcher, Sharaf, 2014.Meranoplus mosalahisp. n.is described from the Dhofar Governorate, Oman based on the worker caste. The new species belongs to theM. magrettii-group and closely resemblesM. pulcherSharaf, 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.