Astroblepus phelpsi Schultz, 1944
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Astroblepus phelpsi, the Phelp's catfish, Phelp's naked sucker-mouth catfish or Andean naked sucker-mouth catfish, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Astroblepidae, the climbing catfishes. This catfish is found in South America where it is endemic to the Lake Maracaibo drainage in Venezuela. This species attains a maximum standard length of 7 cm (2.8 in).
The specific name is assumed to honor the businessman and ornithologist William H. Phelps Jr., of Caracas, a “well-known leader in furthering the development of the biological sciences in Venezuela”, and whom Schultz named Spatuloricaria phelpsi in honor of in the same publication as the description of this species. However, it could also apply to his father William H. Phelps, Sr., who was also a businessman and ornithologist in Venezuela.
Wikipedia contributors, Astroblepus phelpsi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:05:09.724268+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Astroblepus phelpsi Schultz, 1944
- Name authority
- Schultz, 1944
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Astroblepidae
- Genus
- Astroblepus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyAstroblepidae Bleeker, 1862
- genusAstroblepus Humboldt, 1805
- speciesAstroblepus phelpsi Schultz, 1944
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Astroblepus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Astroblepus regani (Pellegrin, 1909) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus rengifoi Dahl, 1960 | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus pholeter Collette, 1962 | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus quispei Ardila Rodríguez, 2012 | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus retropinnus (Regan, 1908) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus riberae Cardona & Guerao, 1994 | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus pirrensis (Meek & Hildebrand, 1913) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus sabalo (Valenciennes, 1840) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus praeliorum Allen, 1942 | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus mindoensis (Regan, 1916) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus simonsii (Regan, 1904) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Astroblepus orientalis (Boulenger, 1903) | AstroblepidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Schultz, L. P. (1944). The catfishes of Venezuela, with descriptions of thirty-eight new forms. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 94. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.94-3172.173 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5VVSY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.