The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is an endangered earless seal that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.[2]

Known to the native Hawaiians as ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or "dog that runs in rough water," it received its scientific name Monachus schauinslandi when Dr. H. Schauinsland discovered the first skull known to science on Laysan Island. Its common name derives from its round head covered with short hairs, giving it the appearance of a medieval friar. The name may also reflect the fact that it lives a solitary existence relative to other species that collect in large colonies. Hawaiian monk seals are the most primitive living members of the Family Phocidae, having separated from other true seals perhaps 15 million years ago.