Astroblepus vaillanti 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 occurs in the Pacific coastal drainages of Ecuador. This species attains a maximum standard length of .
The specific name, vaillanti, honors the French zoologist Léon Vaillant of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, âÂÂthrough whose kindness [Regan] was permitted to examine the specimens in the Jardin des PlantesâÂÂ.