Dictionary of Ichthyology
sea monk = an organism referred to in Conrad Gesner's Historiae animalium based on a specimen found off the eastern coast of Zealand about 1546. Superficially it resembled a monk, hence the name, and has variously been identified as a giant squid, a walrus, a seal, or a monkfish (Squatina squatina). It could be a relative of the Jenny Haniver, q.v.