Sthenopus is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish, a velvetfish belonging to the family Aploactinidae.

Sthenopus was described as a genus in 1848 by the Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer John Richardson when he described Sthenopus mollis as a new species from the "Sea of China".

[6] The name of the genus, Sthenopus combiunes sthenos, meaning "strong" (although Richardson may have meant asthenos, i.e. "weak"), with pous, meaning "foot", an allusion to the pelvic fins being relatively small in size.

It has a smooth body which is clothedin many elongated cirrhi, particularly towards the front.

[8] Sthenopus is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific.