<br> The genus<br> Carinaulus<br> Tesař, belonging to the scarab beetle subfamily Aphodiinae, currently includes 20 valid species distributed across the Eastern Palearctic and Oriental Regions. The genus is characterised by the following elytral features: broad and deep striae; striae prominently punctate and distinctly crenulate; intervals tectiform with a median carina; and the sixth and eighth intervals joined at the pre-apical area, though lacking a carina in that region. Two species are recognised in the Korean Peninsula,<br> Carinaulus inexpectatus<br> (Balthasar, 1935) in North Korea and<br> Carinaulus coreensis<br> (Kim, 1986) in South Korea.<br> Carinaulus inexpectatus<br> (Balthasar, 1935), with Vladivostok designated as its type locality, occurs in the Russian Far East and North Korea, whereas<br> C. coreensis<br> (Kim, 1986) is considered endemic to South Korea.<br> <br> <br> During examination of Korean<br> Carinaulus<br> Tesař, we compared several specimens of<br> Carinaulus coreensis<br> (Kim, 1986), including a paratype and<br> C. inexpectatus<br> (Balthasar, 1935) collected from North Korea. We found that the two nominal species cannot be distinguised by the morphological characters, including labrum chaetotaxy and male genitalia. Accordingly, it is proposed that<br> Aphodius coreensis<br> Kim, 1986, is a subjective junior synonym of<br> Aphodius nexpectatus<br> Balthasar, 1935.<br>
