The Hawaiian shape-shifting lizard creature is called a moʻo, written Moʻo in the singular or plural context.
In Hawaiian mythology, moʻo are supernatural lizard spirits that can change between enormous reptiles, small geckos, and human forms. They are especially associated with water: fishponds, streams, pools, and the coast were often imagined as places where a moʻo might dwell. Some traditions also describe them as amphibious beings with influence over weather and water.
Moʻo are not simply ordinary lizards enlarged by storytelling. They belong to the wider Hawaiian world of spirits and could be revered as ʻaumakua, ancestral or family guardians. Stories sometimes portray them as dangerous monsters, while others treat them as powerful protectors tied to particular landscapes. When a moʻo dies in some legends, its body becomes a permanent feature of the terrain.
The answer can appear with different apostrophe and macron conventions, including moʻo and Mo’o. Pueo means owl, Kāne is a major deity, and ʻaumakua is a category of ancestral guardian—not the name of this creature.