Pontinus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes.

The scorpionfishes in this genus are distributed in the tropical and warm temperate parts Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Pontinus was first described as a genus in 1860 by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey y Aloy when he was describing the longsnout scorpionfish (P. castor) which he had collected at Havana, as this species was the only species Poey definitely placed within the new genus it is its type species by monotypy.

[2][3] The genus name from is derived from pontis, meaning "bridge", an allusion to the suborbital stay, or ridge, which is found in all the species in the subfamily Scorpaeninae.

[5] Pontinus scorpionfishes are found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Indian and Pacific Oceans.