Phaeaphodius Reitter 1892
Phaeaphodius Reitter 1892: 62.

Phaeaphodius rectus (Motschulsky) Photo by P. Skelley.

Type species. Aphodius solskyi Harold 1871: 251 (= Aphodius rectus Motschulsky 1866), by original designation.

Diagnosis. Body length 4-7 mm, elongate, somewhat robust, black, elytra often paler in color. Head and pronotum dull, alutaceous. Pronotum with posterior angles emarginate; basal line obsolete near posterior angles; lateral setal fringe sparse to absent. Scutellum pentagonal. Metatibial apical spinules long, alternately unequal.

Distribution. Palearctic, northwestern North America (introduced).

Composition. Worldwide, Phaeaphodius contains approximately 12 species, one is introduced into northwestern North America.

Phaeaphodius rectus (Motschulsky 1866: 169) [Aphodius], WA, OR-USA.
                  = Aphodius agraphus Mader 1953: 78.
                  = Aphodius biformis Reitter 1892: 205.
                  = Aphodius castaneipennis Waterhouse 1875: 83.
                  = Aphodius controversus Balthasar 1932: 112.
                  = Aphodius diabolicus Balthasar 1932: 112.
                  = Aphodius diversus Waterhouse 1875: 82.
                  = Aphodius edai Balthasar 1956: 68.
                  = Aphodius lividipennis Waterhouse 1875: 81.
                  = Aphodius semicolor Reitter 1892: 205.
                  = Aphodius solskyi Harold 1871: 251.
                  = Aphodius tschuensis Protzenko 1979: 15.
                  = Aphodius vitta Motschulsky 1866: 170.
                  = Aphodius zichyi Csiki 1901: 107.

Life History. Apparently a surface dung generalist.

Larvae. The larval morphology of P. rectus is most recently discussed by Frolov (1994)

References:
Frolov, A. V. 1994. On the larval morphology of two Aphodius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 73(4): 103-110.
Gordon, R. D., and P. E. Skelley. 2007. A monograph of the Aphodiini inhabiting the United States and Canada (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 79: 580 p.