Pronotum 3. Convex, approximately 1.7 wider than long; anterior and posterior borders parallel; lateral borders parallel anteriorly, convex posteriorly. Glabrous Anterior angles rectangular, rounded. Surface densely punctulate, intermingled with a large number of large punctures. Lateral and posterior borders narrowly margined, changing to sulcate; posterior margin crenulate. Elytra. Convex, elongate, slightly narrower than thorax; with obtuse humeri deeply convex anteriorly; glabrous except for anterior margin, which bears a row of bristles. Striae of each elytron deeply impressed with a number of large punctures; interstices twice as wide as striae with a variable number of minute punctures. Legs. Middle coxae widely separated. All legs punctulate Fore trochanter and femur (4) with a row of long bristles along prolateral margin. Fore tibia (4) with proximal half of retrolateral margin bearing three denticles gradually increasing in size distally; distal portion bearing three large, acutely curved teeth; prolateral margin bearing five or six bristles and a short, stout spur at distal end extending to just beyond the distal margin of the first tarsal segment. Hind femur (5) glabrous. Hind tibia (5) bearing five or six prolateral bristles, four or five median ones and approximately twelve retrolateral ones, six of the latter forming two groups of three, one 0.5 and the other 0.25 along the margin from distal end. Distal margin bearing two retrolateral spines and two bristles, three short median spines, a short prolateral spur, and a large spur, the latter 2.2 the length of the small spui and extending to the distal end of the second tarsal segment. Length, 6 mm; breadth, 3 mm. Type Material. Holotype in British Museum (Nat. Hist.). Material Examined. 114 specimens from Awanui; Mangamuka River, N. Auckland, Auckland; Okauia; Kara, Whangarei; Midhirst; Taranaki; Sinclair Head, Wellington; Mt. Arthur, Nelson; Whangapeka Valley; Titahi Bay, Wellington. Saprosites distans (Sharp, 1876). 1876. Aphodius distans Sharp, Ent. mon. Mag., 13: 70. 1877. Saprosites distans (Sharp), Harold, Ann. Mus. Sior. Nat. Genova, 10: 92. 1880. Aphodius exsculptus (White), Broun, Man. N. Z. Col, 1: 258. Aphodius distans was described by Sharp in 1876 from material collected in New Zealand and sent to him by Broun. Sharp considered this species to be closely related to Oxyomus exsculptus White, but not synonymous with it. The following year Harold (1877) suggested placing A. distans in the genus Saprosites In. 1880 Broun synonymised distans with exsculptus as Aphodius exsculptus, as he said it had “been found to correspond with the type of A. exsculptus in the National Collection.” In 1958 the author wrote to Monsieur A Villiers, of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, asking him if he would kindly compare Sharp's types of Aphodius distans, A. suspectus, and A. pascoei M. Villiers replied that suspectus and pascoei were identical, but distans was very different. By comparison with the type of Saprosites exsculptus in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) it has been shown that suspectus and pascoei are synonymous with exsculptus Thus on the basis of M. Villiers' examination, distans still remains a valid species, but it will need to be compared with the types of other New Zealand species before this can definitely be confirmed Because of its similarity to Sharp's other types the author tentatively places it in the genus Saprosites Redtenbacher as S. distans (Sharp). Type Material. Holotype in Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Saprosites candens (Broun, 1880) Fig. 3. 1–5. 1880. Aphodius candens Broun, Man. N. Z. Col, 1: 258–259. 1910. Saprosites candens (Broun), Schmidt, Genera Insectorum, Fasc 110: 112. 1910. Saprosites candens (Broun), Schmidt, Coleopt. Cat. 20: 79. Aphodius candens was described by Broun, in 1880, from a single specimen collected at Tairua, Thames Since then no further specimens have been recorded Broun considered it to be closely allied to Saprosites exsculptus. In 1910, when Schmidt revised the Aphodiinae, he placed A. candens in the genus Saprosites At the request of the author, Mr. E. B. Britton has compared the types of Saprosites candens and S. exsculptus (White) He writes, “The type of Aphodius candens (Broun) is unique, and this species is distinct from Saprosites exsculptus (White) The type of A. candens is very small (length 4.4 mm) and is testaceous in colour (no doubt immature) It differs from the type of S. exsculptus by having an acute tooth on the elytral shoulder (in exsculptus it is obtuse), pronotum slightly more