Pentapodus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Nemipteridae, the threadfin breams.

Pentapodus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1824 by the French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard[1] when they described Pentapodus vitta from Shark Bay in Western Australia.

[2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Pentapodus within the family Nemipteridae which it places in the order Spariformes.

However, according to Valenciennes, who called the genus “Pentapus” in 1835, it was a reference to the three long, pointed scales, one above root of each of the pelvic and pectoral fins with a single one between these, giving the appearance of five ventral fins.

There are 2 or 3 pairs of small canine-like teeth in the front of the upper jaw and a pair of larger, flared canine-like teeth on both sides of the lower jaw.