Belongs within: Meranoplini.
Meranoplus is a palaeotropical genus of ants characterised by nine-segmented antenna together with the dorsum of the anterior mesosoma being flattened and projecting to form a shield, often with regular protruding edges separated by translucent ‘windows’.
<==Meranoplus Smith 1854TB85
|--*M. bicolor (Guérin-Meneville 1844)Z01 (see below for synonymy)
|--M. aureolus Crawley 1921TB85
| |--M. a. aureolusTB85
| |--M. a. doddi Santschi 1928TB85
| `--M. a. linae Santschi 1928TB85
|--M. barretti Santschi 1928TB85
|--M. belli Forel 1902B03
|--M. dichrous Forel 1907TB85
|--M. dimidiatus Smith 1867TB85
|--M. diversus Smith 1867TB85
| |--M. d. diversusTB85
| |--M. d. duyfkeni Forel 1915TB85
| |--M. d. oxleyi Forel 1915TB85
| `--M. d. unicolor Forel 1902TB85
|--M. excavatus Clark 1938TB85
|--M. fenestratus Smith 1867TB85
|--M. ferrugineus Crawley 1922TB85
|--M. froggatti Forel 1913TB85
|--M. hilli Crawley 1922TB85
|--M. hirsutus Mayr 1876TB85
| |--M. h. hirsutusTB85
| |--M. h. minor Forel 1902TB85
| `--M. h. rugosa Crawley 1922TB85
|--M. hospes Forel 1910TB85
|--M. laeviventris Emery 1889B03
|--M. leveillei Emery 1883E14
|--M. malaysianusN-ZLI11
|--M. mars Forel 1902TB85
| |--M. m. marsTB85
| `--M. m. ajax Forel 1915TB85
|--M. mcarthuriH09
|--M. minimus Crawley 1922 [=M. crawleyi Viehmeyer 1925, M. minor Crawley 1918 non M. hirsutus minor Forel 1902]TB85
|--M. mjobergi Forel 1915TB85
|--M. mucronatus Smith 1857B03
|--M. oceanicus Smith 1862TB85
|--M. pubescens (Smith 1854) [=Cryptocerus pubescens]TB85
|--M. puryi Forel 1902TB85
| |--M. p. puryiTB85
| `--M. p. curvispina Forel 1910TB85
|--M. radamaeBS06
|--M. rothneyi Forel 1902B03
|--M. rugosusH09
|--M. similis Viehmeyer 1922TB85
`--M. testudineus McAreavey 1956TB85
*Meranoplus bicolor (Guérin-Meneville 1844)Z01 [=Cryptocerus bicolorTB85; incl. Me. dimicans Walker 1859B03, Myrmica tarda Jerdon 1851Z01, Me. villosus Motsch. 1859B03]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B03] Bingham, C. T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera vol. 2. Ants and Cuckoo-Wasps. Taylor and Francis: London.
[BS06] Brady, S. G., T. R. Schultz, B. L. Fisher & P. S. Ward. 2006. Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103 (48): 18172–18177.
[E14] Emery, C. 1914. Les fourmis de la Nouvelle-Calédonie & des îles Loyalty. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 393–436, pl. 12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.
[H09] Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1–206.
[N-ZLI11] Nur-Zati A. M., G. T. Lim & A. B. Idris. 2011. Checklist of ants of selected hill dipterocarp forests of peninsular Malaysia. Serangga 16 (1): 91–105.
[TB85] Taylor, R. W., & D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 2. Hymenoptera: Formicoidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea pp. 1–149. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.
[Z01] Zhou, S. 2001. Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press: Guilin (China).