Meranoplus Smith 1853

Key to the Arabian Meranoplus Smith, 1853 Anterior clypeal margin strongly concave with a single pair of well-developed blunt teeth (Fig. 2A); clypeal surface distinctly sculptured, with 3 pairs of longitudinal rugae (Fig. 2A); the inner bulge of the eye extends well into the scrobal cavity, and, in full-face view, the scrobe is broadly visible; in full-face view, cephalic dorsum to posterior level of eyes with relatively dense, continuous longitudinal rugae (about 20 rugae) (Fig. 2B); cephalic surface between rugae unsculptured; anterior face of petiolar node finely superficially punctate; posterior face of petiolar node distinctly longitudinally rugulose (Fig. 2C); uniform yellow, rarely some specimens with postpetiole and posterior margin of first gastral tergite brown (KSA).......................................................... M. pulcher Sharaf - Anterior clypeal margin shallowly concave or straight with one pair of reduced tubercles (Fig. 2D); clypeal surface unsculptured, or with two pairs of less distinct longitudinal rugae (Fig. 2E); the eye merely abuts the scrobal cavity and, in full-face view, the scrobe is narrowly visible; in full-face view, cephalic surface to posterior level of eyes with irregular interrupted longitudinal rugae (about 12 rugae) (Fig. 2E); cephalic surface with distinct fine ground sculpture between rugae; anterior face of petiolar node smooth (Fig. 2F); posterior face of petiolar node feebly sculptured with about five longitudinal rugae; distinctly bicolored, head, and gaster brown, antennae, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole light brown, legs yellow (Oman).............................................................. M. mosalahi sp. n.Published as part of Sharaf, Mostafa R. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2019, Review of the ant genus Meranoplus Smith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula with description of a new species M. mosalahi sp. n. from Oman, pp. 1-20 in PeerJ 7 on page 5, DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6287, http://zenodo.org/record/512304