''Rhencus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, grunts belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Haemulidae Haemulidae is a family (biology), family of fishes in the order (biology), order Perciformes known commonly as grunts. It is made up of the two subfamily, subfamilies Haemulinae (grunts) and Plectorhynchinae (sweetlips), which contain about 133 ...

. The species within the genus are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is not yet recognised by

Fishbase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

but is by the

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

Species

The following species are classified within the genus ''Rhencus'': * '' Rhencus macracanthus'' ( Gũnther, 1864) (longspine grunt) * '' Rhencus panamensis'' Steindachner, 1875 (Panama grunt)

Systematics

The type species of ''Rhencus'' is ''Pristipoma panamensis '' which

Fishbase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

still places 'within the genus '' Pomadasys''. Molecular studies now suggest that ''Pomadasys'' ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' is

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with the two ''Rhencus'' species being basal alongside ''Pomadasys argenteus'', one reason ''Pomadasys'' was paraphyletic. The genus ''Rhencus'' Jordan & Evermann, 1896 was revived to include the species listed above, the name ''Pristipoma'' being unavailable as its type species is ''Lutjanus hasta'', a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''P. argenteus''.

References

Haemulinae Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Barton Warren Evermann {{Haemulidae-stub