Members of this group vary widely in size (2–33 mm long) and shape, but were thought to be derived from an ancient ball-rolling lineage.

The outer edges of the front tibiae have less than four teeth.

The grouping based on these characteristics has, however, been found to have little phylogenetic validity, and the placement of several genera in the tribe is likely to change.

[2] However, this Article does not apply when two names are competing for the same taxonomic rank (as in this case, both being used at the rank of tribe), so this conclusion has been reversed by subsequent classifications, restoring Deltochilini as the valid name.

[3] The tribe comprises about 800 species in 120 genera:[1] They constitute a high proportion of the dung beetle diversity in many parts of the world; more than 35% of the genera in the Americas, Australia, Madagascar and many islands.