Considered a synonym of Awaous transandeanus (Günther, 1861)
- Castro-Aguirre, José-Luis & H. Espinosa Pérez, J.J. Schmitter-Soto. 1999. "Ictiofauna estuarino-Lagunar y vicaria de México". Colección Textos Politécnicos. Serie Biotechnologías. 1-711 (ffm00203)
Original description as Awaous nelsoni:
- Evermann, Barton Warren. 1898. "Notes on fishes collected by E. W. Nelson on the Tres Marias islands and in Sinaloa and Jalisco, Mexico". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 12:1-3 (ffm00420)