Teuchestes Mulsant 1842
Teuchestes Mulsant 1842: 176.

Teuchestes fossor (Linnaeus) Photo by P. Skelley.

Type species. Scarabaeus fossor Linnaeus 1758: 348, by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Body length 8.0-12.0 mm, elongate, robust, black. Head with frontal lobes not auriculate, frontal suture tuberculate. Pronotum smooth, weakly punctate. Scutellum long, triangular. Elytron not flattened on disc, concealing pygidium; striae shallow. Metatibial apical spinules short, equal in length.

Distribution. Palearctic, North America (introduced).

Composition. Worldwide, Teuchestes contains 7 species, one of which is introduced into the New World.

Teuchestes fossor (Linnaeus 1758: 348) [Scarabaeus], holarctic, N. America (introduced).
                  = Aphodius brunneus Mulsant 1842: 177.
                  = Aphodius femoralis Sahlberg 1924: 14.
                  = Aphodius fossorius Gistel 1857: 599.
                  = Aphodius scutellearis Depoli 1938: 251.
                  = Aphodius sylvaticus Ahrens 1812 : 33.
                  = Scarabaeus triangulum Piller and Mitterpacher 1783: 97.

Life History. Adults are frequently collected in bovine dung.

Larvae. The larvae of T. fossor has been most recently described in Ritcher (1966).

References:
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 pp.
Ritcher, P.O. 1966. White grubs and their allies: A study of North American scarabaeoid larvae. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon. Studies in Entomology 4: 219 pp.