Name: Hidoikami taniwha | "Taniwha" | "Moho"
Appearance: Taniwha's skin is a dark, charcoal gray, with a pale underbelly. Armor plates are black, and often described akin to obsidian. When angered, the skin around the plates and fins glow red. Taniwha also lacks teeth; what some would identify as teeth are actually blade-like, self-sharpening parts of the skull.
Size: Taniwha is on the smaller end of the kaiju spectrum, at an estimated 25 meters at the hip, and 75 meters in length. Despite this, its bones are incredibly dense, and make it heavier than most monsters of a similar size.
First Appearance: Shortly after the ultrasonic pulse, vessels began disappearing near White Island, New Zealand. The attacks began occurring closer and closer to land until Taniwha made landfall in Auckland.
Abilities:Powerful jaws— Taniwha possesses jaws powerful enough to crush both stone and metal.
Heat tolerance— Shows enough resistance to magma and lava to burrow through it and store small amounts in its body.
Burrowing— Though by no means amazing, Taniwha can burrow through earth, magma, and lava; this is partly accomplished by chewing the material.
Magma spit— Taniwha has a special organ in its body (theorized to be in the chest, near the base of the neck) to store molten magma or lava, and maintain its temperature. In dire situations, it spits magma as a last resort.
Amphibious biology— Possesses gills and lungs.
Durability— Its skeletal structure makes Taniwha extremely resistant to ballistic weaponry.
Weaknesses:Cold temperatures— Taniwha is unable to withstand temperatures below freezing. It's theorized that temperatures below freezing interferes with its ability to maintain magma in a liquid state in its body.
Weak lungs— Taniwha's lungs are quite weak, and the monster must return to the water for a period of time.
Gills— Taniwha's gills are nearly unarmored, and contain a large amount of nerves and blood vessels.
Electricity— Powerful electromagnetic fields may deter, stun, or confuse Taniwha.
Pollution— Taniwha avoids heavily polluted waters.
Display of force— Given its size in comparison to other monsters, a sufficient threat display from an opponent may make Taniwha flee.
Personality:In the past, Taniwha was regarded as a guardian spirit by the Maori people. However, after it came ashore and rampaged through Auckland, it has maintained a low profile, and has had very few interactions with humans since then.
History: Tales of giant sharks have been part of Oceania mythology for centuries, as both a benevolent and destructive force. The first modern account of this monster was from a Japanese destroyer in 1942. The officer in charge described it as a "terrible god" in his report, which remained classified until it was sighted again by TERRA in 2016. It wasn't until 2021 that more information was gleaned from its biology, when it made landfall to attack Auckland. Since then, it has maintained a low profile, traveling along the Pacific rim.
Other: — Taniwha displays physical traits akin to the extinct
Dunkleosteus; biologists in TERRA are unable to agree if the resemblance is a case of evolutionary convergence or if Taniwha is descended from these prehistoric fish.
Theme: Lord of the Depths