Males and female beetles are between ½ and 1 inch long and overall metallic blue-green and copper. The front of the head is flattened and golden bronze. The male has a long, curved horn extending from the front of the head (clypeus) while the slightly larger female has a tubercle. The front legs are modified for digging. This species, along with other dung beetles, plays an important role in nature: reducing fecal material in nature and thereby reducing the habitat for filth-breeding flies; considered beneficial and medically harmless.