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 is a unique and charismatic myrmicine genus of hairy, slow-moving, and armored ants. The genus was previously classified in its own tribe, the Meranoplini, with one fossil genus, Parameranoplus, from Baltic amber (44.1 ± 1.1 mya), but was moved to Crematogastrini by Ward et al. (2015). The historic shuffling of Meranoplus through higher taxa — Cryptoceridae, Cataulacinae, Tetramoriini, Meranoplini — reflects our poor understanding of the phylogenetic position of Meranoplus within the Formicidae. Brady et al. (2006) recovered a clade of Meranoplus and Cataulacus, although this relationship was not supported in Moreau et al. (2006). Distribution The extant species of Meranoplus are distributed throughout the Old World, absent only from the Palearctic and Oceania regions but with the exception of M. levellei, from New Caledonia. Biology Species of this genus are predominantly ground-nesting and, when disturbed, will display thanatosis enhanced by crypsis, i.e., individuals will accumulate dirt in their pilosity and play dead. With respect to diet, most species are omnivores and facultative granivores,