Sturisoma kneri is a mailed catfish, endemic to the Lago Maracaibo drainage of northern South America. It was originally listed as Loricaria kneri and briefly diagnosed, cited as an unnamed species of Sturisoma in a type catalog of the Museo di Torino, Italy. In this work, the validity and authorship of the name Loricaria kneri are discussed, and S. kneri is made available. Sturisoma kneri is described as a new taxon and diagnosed based on interorbital width, osteological features of the roof of the skull, and number of plates in the midventral plate series.