The uranoscopus is found in some medieval encyclopedias. It is described in the Liber floridus of Lambert of Saint-Omer as a fish that always looks upward. In the Liber de natura rerum of Thomas of Cantimpré it is described as both a quadruped and a fish: as an animal that has only one eye on the top of its head, so it always looks upward; and as a fish with one eye on the top of its head, with which it can see traps. The description from Isidore of Seville is in a section of the text on fish. Such confusions as to what an unknown animal name actually refers to are common in encyclopedias.

Those are signified by this fish, whose eyes are always on the Lord, as with the mirror of divine contemplation, whatever adversities, whatever dangers may happen, are contemplated more clearly, so that they may have one single-minded eye on God, with which they may be seen before and behind. [Thomas of Cantimpré]