[2][3] Oxysternon festivum was among the first dung beetle species studied by zoologist in the early 18th century.

The first illustration of an "exceedingly beautiful shining gold and red, three horned beetle" was published in 1747 by August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof, and a first description was done by Laurens Theodorus Gronovius in 1764, but the names applied were non-binomial and therefore invalid for nomenclatural purposes.

[4][5][6] It was later re-described by Carl Linnaeus under the name of Scarabaeus festivus, and was subsequently included in most publications regarding exotic insects in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

[2] O. festivum mostly lives in tropical humid forests, but may also occur in savanna and can tolerate certain degree of habitat changes.

Females and minor males differ in details of the head shape, specifically the transverse carina.