''Meranoplus mayri'' is a Malagasy

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Meranoplus ''Meranoplus'' is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. With over 80 valid species, it is predicted that over half of the ''Meranoplus'' diversity remains undescribed, most of these from Australia. Classification ''Meranoplus' ...

''.

Distribution

''Meranoplus mayri'' is distributed throughout the drier regions of Madagascar from the Southwestern region near

Andohahela National Park The Andohahela National Park is situated in Anosy in the south-east of Madagascar. It is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy H ...

all the way north into the

Mahajanga Province Mahajanga was a former provinces of Madagascar, province of Madagascar that had an area of 150,023 km2. It had a population of 1,896,000 (2004). Its capital was Mahajanga, the second largest city in Madagascar. Except for Fianarantsoa Provi ...

. The elevational range of ''M. mayri'' is 20–1345 m.

Description

This species displays subtle variation in morphometric and most sculptural characters across its range except for the sculpture of the base of abdominal

tergum A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; : ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton wi ...

IV. This character varies from extremely smooth and shining in the southwest to strongly, dense-punctate and costate along the western edge of the High Plateau.

Intergrade In zoology, intergradation is the way in which two distinct subspecies are connected via areas where populations are found that have the characteristics of both. There are two types of intergradation: primary and secondary intergradation. Primary ...

s are common, however, occurring all along the western coast and into the High Plateau. Both smooth and punctate specimens may be found at the same locales, including Ampotoampoto, Ejada, Tsihombe and Ambinanitelo. The variation of this character indicates that although the two extremes are reproductively isolated by distance and geography, but are otherwise linked across their range by intermediate populations.

Biology

As with most of the diversity of ''Meranoplus'', nothing is known about the behavior or ecology of ''M. mayri'' except that its ground nests may be found in urban gardens, grasslands, and deciduous and spiny forests. This is the most frequently collected Malagasy ''Meranoplus'', with numerous specimens captured in

pitfalls ''Pitfalls'' is the sixth studio album by Norwegian progressive metal band Leprous, released on 25 October 2019 via Inside Out Music and preceded by the singles "Below", "Alleviate", and "Distant Bells". It was recorded over six months at Ghost ...

, malaise traps, and hand collections. Although few collections have been made of this species in the High Plateau region, it is predicted that they may be found there as well.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3690828 Myrmicinae Hymenoptera of Africa Insects described in 1910