MUTO (Term)

MUTO, also spelled M.U.T.O. is a term used by the organization Monarch in the MonsterVerse.

Meaning
MUTO is an acronym for "Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism."

Use
MUTO is a catch-all term employed by Monarch to refer to unnamed. It first saw use in the comic Godzilla: Awakening, serving as the identifier for Shinomura and Godzilla before receiving their official names. It is later used in the 2014 film, Godzilla, where it is used to identify the parasitic kaiju that serve as antagonists; however, these kaiju are never given official names, and are thus known only as MUTO. The term is later used in Kong: Skull Island, in which William Randa informs Preston Packard that he and Monarch specialize in studying and hunting MUTOs.

History
The MUTOs are different species of ancient creatures that were once thought to have gone extinct. However, it was discovered that they survived by going into hibernation, subsisting on the natural radiation from the Earth's core. They have been sighted throughout history, as evidenced by a variety of cave paintings, drawings, and stories featuring fictional creatures such as the leviathan and hydra - which were found to be based on Godzilla and Ghidorah respectfully.

After the MUTO attack on San Francisco in 2014, more and more MUTOs were gradually uncovered, such as Ghidorah within Antarctica in 2016. However, the event also seems to have prompted the unveiling of MUTOs discovered long before the San Francisco incident, such as Mothra - discovered in 2009 - and Rodan - discovered in 1991. Since the San Francisco incident, when their presence was made known to the world as a whole, they have been classified as Titans.

List of MUTOs or Titans

 * Godzilla
 * Shinomura
 * MUTO
 * Mothra
 * Rodan
 * Ghidorah
 * Unidentified desert Titan
 * Unidentified mountain Titan
 * Baphomet
 * Typhoon
 * Abaddon
 * Bunyip
 * Methuselah
 * Leviathan
 * Sargon
 * Kong
 * Skullcrawlers
 * Psychovultures
 * Sker Buffaloes
 * Mother Longlegs
 * Spore Mantises
 * Mire Squids
 * Death Jackals
 * Sirenjaws
 * Swamp Locusts
 * Magma Turtles
 * Vinestranglers
 * Holy Tigers
 * Giant apes
 * Giant plants
 * Giant flying reptiles
 * Giant shrimps
 * Giant birds
 * Brain-like creatures
 * Bipedal creatures
 * Giant ants
 * Giant snakes
 * Carnivorous plant

Trivia

 * As of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the MUTO are now referred to as Titans.