The systematics of the marine catfish of the family Ariidae is controversial because at the present time the number of species and genera in the family, or their relationships, remain uncertain. Phylogenetic relationships among five representative species of marine catfish of the family Ariidae from both the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts of Mexico were assessed by the analysis of the variability in 21 alloenzymatic loci, and by the comparison of the electrophoretic patterns of whole muscle proteins. Interspecific genetic divergence levels obtained by both electrophoretic methods showed a clear separation among the genera Cathorops, Bagre and Ariopsis, as well as in the studied species of Cathorops and Ariopsis, with Bagre marinus showing a greater genetic similarity with the Ariopsis group. Finally, our results contribute to the definition of the presence of this species in the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico