We describe a new species in the genus Scarites Fabricius, S. stenops Bousquet and Skelley, from one specimen collected in Florida. The adult differs from those of other Nearctic species by the very small, flat eyes, the extensive pustulate area at the elytral base, and the markedly convex elytral interval 7 behind the humerus. Scarites texanus Chaudoir is here synonymized under S. subterraneus Fabricius, new synonymy, validating the synonymy proposed in an earlier unpublished work, and Scarites vicinus Chaudoir, previously considered a junior synonym of S. quadriceps Chaudoir, is revalidated [revised status]. We include an updated key to all known Scarites species found in North America, north of Mexico.