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Warning: Some information in this file is missing. Please contact your administrator for more information.
Item #: SCP-2256
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Information about SCP-2256 is subject to a gradual antimemetic corrosion effect. Corrosion occurs at differing rates rates depending on the level of detail/accuracy in the information and the physical complexity of the storage medium. In-depth academic papers, photographs, and information stored electronically decay rapidly; broad descriptions, pencil sketches and paperwork decay slowly.
Therefore, this electronic database entry should describe SCP-2256 only in broad terms. Detailed information about SCP-2256's appearance, theorized evolutionary ancestry, biology, diet, behavior, vocalizations, lifecycle, intelligence, ecological role and cultural significance should be stored in hard copy at Site 19, vault 1-053. The rate of corrosion in both data sources should be monitored carefully, although at present no technique is known for halting or undoing such corrosion.
Although these antimemetic effects linger and rate Euclid classification, SCP-2256 itself is extinct and requires no special containment procedures.
Description: SCP-2256 (Cryptomorpha gigantes) is a species of gigafauna which was endemic to the South Pacific Ocean around the islands of Polynesia. SCP-2256 was one of the very few recorded species known to have developed rudimentary perceptual/"antimemetic" camouflage, rendering them nearly impossible for other sentient beings to perceive or remember. This adaptation is theorized to have arisen in order to elude predators.
SCP-2256 was the largest species to have lived on Earth. Resembling spindly, vertically elongated giraffes or brachiosauruses, adults of the species grew to over 1,000 meters in height. They weighed no more than 4 tonnes, with most of their mass being "camouflaged" by a very similar adaptation. With their broad, dish-shaped feet, they were able to walk directly on the surface of the ocean without sinking.
SCP-2256 navigated the ocean alone or in █████ of 2 to as many as 2,000 individuals. They were reluctant to approach land, especially inhabited islands, usually staying more than 30 kilometers offshore. Because of their height, they were visible on the horizon at this distance.
Acquisition: Polynesian natives of the island of Maikiti used a substance called teukoka for recreational and religious purposes. As well as being a moderate psychedelic, this drug had mnestic properties, suppressing antimemetic effects and making entities camouflaged in this way easier to see and remember. Thus, the Maikitians were for hundreds of years the only people to see SCP-2256. In Maikitian mythology SCP-2256 were wondering spirits whom the gods had charged with maintaining the horizon, to ensure that the sky and the water never mixed. They were characterized as well-meaning and friendly, but unintelligent and often deficient in their duties, resulting in storms and typhoons. They were called polo'ongaku, "the ones who walk very slowly".