Original description as Argyreus osculus:
- Girard, Charles Frederic. 1856. "Researches upon the cyprinoid fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of the United States, west of the Mississippi Valley, from specimens in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 8:165-213 (ffm04542)
Synonyms (2):
- Argyreus notabilis Girard, 1856, with type locality at Río Santa Cruz, tributary to Río Gila, Sonora, Mexico. Determiner: La Rivers, 1994
- Ceratichthys ventricosus Cope, 1874, with type locality at Arizona, U.S.A. Determiner: La Rivers, 1994
- Apocope couesii Yarrow, 1875, with type locality at Near Camp Apache [Fort Apache], 33°47'26"N, 109°59'17"W, southern Navajo County, Arizona, U.S.A. Determiner: Gilbert, 1998
Conservation: Rhinichthys osculus is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species.