They are native to the western Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

Phenacoscorpius was first described as a genus in 1938 by the American ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler when he described Phenacoscorpius megalops from the Philippines which he designated as the type species of the new monotypic genus.

[1][2] The genus name is a compound of phenaco, which means "cheat", an allusion to the incomplete lateral line of P. megalops, and scorpius, meaning "scorpion", as this is a scorpionfish.

[3] Phenacoscorpius contains, as of January 2022, seven recognized species:[4][5] Phenacoscorpius scorpionfishes have very bony heads armed with strong spines and without an occipital pit on the top of the head behind the eyes.

The lateral line is incomplete being made up of only 4-5 pored scales at the front.