Species of Zopherus only live in the Americas, where they are distributed from Venezuela to the southern United States.

Indeed, the elytra are so thick that it is often necessary to drill a hole in them in order to mount specimens.

[4] Z. tristis lives under the bark of the desert tamarisk in the Colorado Desert, while Z. granicollis bores into the root crowns of Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi) and single-leaf pine (Pinus monophylla).

[3] The genus was initially erected in 1832 by George Robert Gray, using the spelling Zopheros.

[3] The species Zopherus chilensis from Yucatán, Mexico has been used in jewelry as living jewels.