Pholis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pholidae, the gunnels.

Pholis was first proposed as a genus in 1777 by the Italian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli.

The type species was later designated to be Blennius gunnellus,[1] which Linnaeus had described in 1758 in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae.

[3] The genus name Pholis is an Ancient Greek name for a fish that hides in a hole, the name dating at least as far back in history to Aristotle.

These fishes are found in rocky areas in the intertidal zone and in the shallow waters below the low tide mark.