Belongs within: Aphodiinae.
Ataenius is a cosmopolitan genus of fairly generalised aphodiine beetles with a basal bead on the elytra.
<==Ataenius Harold 1867CW92
|--*A. scutellaris Harold 1867CW92
|--A. angulatus Petrovitz 1964CW92
|--A. aphodioides Lea 1923CW92
|--A. asper Petrovitz 1975CW92
|--A. australis Harold 1875CW92
|--A. basiceps Lea 1923CW92
|--A. brevitarsis Petrovitz 1964CW92
|--A. chapini Hinton 1937H37
|--A. circulusbrumalis Petrovitz 1964CW92
|--A. coloratus Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. communisH37
|--A. consobrinus Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. consors Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. crenatipennis (Macleay 1871) [=Ammoecius crenatipennis]CW92
|--A. cribrithoraxH37
|--A. demarzi Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. deserti Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. egulyptusH37
|--A. elongatulus (Macleay 1888) [=Ammaecius elongatulus]CW92
|--A. elongatus Beauv. 1805 [incl. A. complanatus]FS90
|--A. erinaceus Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. eurynotus Lea 1923CW92
|--A. exaratus Chv. in Fleutiaux & Sallé 1890FS90
|--A. excisicollis Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. figuratorH37
|--A. freyi Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. gibbus Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. goyderensis Blackburn 1896CW92
|--A. gracilis Melsh. 1844 [incl. A. chilensis]FS90
|--A. illaetabilis Lea 1923CW92
|--A. imparilis Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. inciderus Petrovitz 1964CW92
|--A. insularis Lea 1923CW92
|--A. integricollis Lea 1923CW92
|--A. katherinei Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. koebelei Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. laevifrons Lea 1923CW92
|--A. latericollis Lea 1926CW92
|--A. limbatusH37
|--A. macilentus Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. microtrichopterus Lea 1923CW92
|--A. molestus Petrovitz 1964CW92
|--A. moniliatus Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. nudus Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. obscurus (Macleay 1871) [=Ammoecius obscurus]CW92
|--A. occidentalis (Macleay 1888) [=Ammaecius occidentalis]CW92
|--A. palmerstoni Blackburn 1891CW92
|--A. panamensisH37
|--A. parvus Lea 1923CW92
|--A. persimilis Lea 1923CW92
|--A. picinus Harold 1867 [incl. A. boucomonti Paulian 1937, A. duplopunctatus Lea 1923]CW92
|--A. picipes Chv. in Fleutiaux & Sallé 1890FS90
|--A. rhyticephalusRJS02
|--A. sciurusRJS02
|--A. scutellarisH37
|--A. semicoecus (Macleay 1888) [=Ammaecius semicoecus]CW92
|--A. semicornutus (Macleay 1871) [=Ammoecius semicornutus]CW92
|--A. setipennis Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. similis Petrovitz 1961CW92
|--A. sordidusFS90
|--A. sparsicollis Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. speculator Blackburn 1891CW92
|--A. spinipennis Lea 1923CW92
|--A. spissus Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. spretulusT90
|--A. stercorator Fab. 1775 [incl. A. bonariensis Kl. 1829, A. crenatostriatus, A. heinekeni Woll. 1854]FS90
|--A. strigatusFS90
|--A. strigifrons Schmidt 1921CW92
|--A. sulcatulus Chv. 1864FS90
|--A. taylori Petrovitz 1975CW92
|--A. terminalis Chv. 1864 [incl. A. ephippiatus, A. marginellus, A. taeniatus]FS90
|--A. thoracicus Petrovitz 1971CW92
|--A. torridus Blackburn 1892CW92
|--A. tweedensis Blackburn 1904CW92
|--A. vulpes Petrovitz 1961CW92
`--A. walkeri Blackburn 1904CW92
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[CW92] Cassis, G., & T. A. Weir. 1992. Aphodiinae. In: Houston, W. W. K. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 9. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea pp. 81–105. AGPS Press: Canberra.
[FS90] Fleutiaux, E., & A. Sallé. 1890. Liste des coléoptères de la Guadeloupe et descriptions d’espèces nouvelles. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 351–484.
[H37] Hinton, H. E. 1937. Ataenius chapini, sp. n., from Mexico (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 39 (1): 3–8.
[RJS02] Ratcliffe, B. C., M. L. Jameson & A. B. T. Smith. 2002. Scarabaeidae Latreille 1802. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr, M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley & J. H. Frank (eds) American Beetles vol. 2. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea pp. 39–81. CRC Press.
[T90] Tashiro, H. 1990. Insecta: Coleoptera Scarabaeidae larvae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1191–1209. John Wiley & Sones: New York.