[3] In 1862 the American biologist Theodore Gill classified Cuviers' C. dentex in a new monospecific genus Odontoscion, designating it as the type species.

[6] Odontoscion dentex has the generic name Odontoscion which is a combination of odontos, meaning teeth, a referenece to the 6 or 7 large canine-like teeth on each side of both jaws of the type species, with scion, a modern Greek name of the shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa), which Gill chose in preference to “sciaena” because he thought that it sounded better, similar to his coining of Cynoscion.

[7] Odontoscion dentex has a short, rather oblong and compressed bodies,[8] with a smoothly arched dorsal profile.

[2] Odontoscion dentex is found in the tropical Western Atlantic Ocean from Florida and Cuba to southern Brazil, although it is absent from the Bahamas.

[2][1] Odontoscion dentex has a wide distribution and in many areas where it occurs it is regarded as abundant, particularly in inshore waters in the vicinity of reefs.