Considered a synonym of Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque, 1820)
- La Rivers, I.. 1994. "Fishes and fisheries of Nevada". University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada. 1-782 (ffm04574)
Original description as Ameiurus obesus:
- Gill, Theodore Nicholas. 1861. "Descriptions of new species of Pimelodinae (abridged from the forthcoming report of Captain J. H. Simpson)". Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 8:42-46 (ffm00233)