Dr Edward Tregear[214-1] speaks of it as follows:
Taniwha were water monsters generally. They mostly inhabited lakes and streams, but sometimes the sea. Sometimes the beast was a land animal, a lizard, etc, but the true _taniwha_ is a water kelpie.
Mr Kerry Nichols,[214-2] speaking of these monsters, says:
With the other fabulous creations of Maori mythology were the _taniwhas_ or evil demons, mysterious monsters in the form of gigantic lizards, who were said to inhabit subterranean caves, the deep places of lakes and rivers, and to guard tabued districts. They were on the alert to upset canoes and to devour men. Indeed, these fabulous monsters not only entered largely into the religious superstitions, but into the poetry and prose of Maori tradition.
The Hawaiian _Mo'o_ or _Moko_ appears, from the following statement by Judge Fornander, to have been applied sometimes to this mythological monster:
The _Mo'o_ or _Moko_ mentioned in tradition--reptiles and lizards--were of several kinds--the _mo'o_ with large, sharp, glistening teeth; the talking mo'o, _moo-olelo_; the creeping mo'o, _moo-kolo_; the roving, wandering mo'o, _moo-pelo_; the watchful mo'o, _moo-kaala_; the prophesying mo'o, _moo-kaula_; the deadly mo'o, _moo-make-a-kane_. The Hawaiian legends frequently speak of _mo'o_ of extraordinary size living in caverns, amphibious in their nature, and being the terror of the inhabitants.[214-3]
According to the Codex Fuen-leal, at the beginning of things the gods made thirteen heavens, and beneath them the primeval water, in which they placed a fish called _cipactli_ (queses como caiman). This marine monster brought the dirt and clay from which they made the earth, which, therefore, is represented in their paintings resting on the back of a fish.
A similar conception is found both in Malay and Hindu mythology, differing somewhat in details, but always relating to some monster reptile. In the Manek Maya, one of the ancient epics of Java, Anta Boga, the deity presiding over the lowest region of the earth, is a dragon-like monster with ninety nostrils. The same conception is found also among other peoples.
In the Tonga language _moco_ is "a species of lizard;" in Hawaiian _mo'o_ or _moko_ is "the general name for lizards," and the same word signifies "lizard" in Samoan; _moko-moko_ is the New Zealand (Maori) name for a small lizard. Taylor[214-4] says that _moko-titi_ was a "lizard god."