Sulcophanaeus imperator is a brightly colored species of dung beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae.

This diurnal, coprophagous beetle is native to south-central South America and generally common.

[1] It is paracoprid, meaning that adults dig tunnels into the soil under the food source and move parts of the food source to a nest chamber where the eggs are laid.

[2] This species can be found in central to northwestern Argentina, central and southern Bolivia and western Paraguay in dry and thorny forests, pastures and scrublands at an elevation of 320–3,000 m (1,050–9,850 ft) above sea level.

In S. i. imperator ("golden phase") the outer parts of the head and outer and rear parts of the pronotum are gold to coppery, often with some shiny green, and the rear part and outer edges of the elytra are gold, coppery or shiny green.