These beetles are abundant in mammal dung, rotting fungi and decaying vegetation. This is a major male, as opposed to a minor male. This beetle was photographed at the marsh next to the boat dock. It is found throughout most of the U.S. except for the far west. Its occurrence in Fontenelle Forest is not known.

It belongs to the large dung beetle subfamily or Scarabaeinae. A pair of adults converts a mass of dung into a ball and rolls it to a suitable place where they dig an underground chamber and bury the ball. The female lays an egg on this ball. The larvae then dine on this fecal mass.