SCP-1585
Red Queen Island
Special Containment Procedures
Due to the size and nature of SCP-1585, containment is primarily focused on suppressing public knowledge and access to SCP-1585. Containment and research is to be carried out primarily by the SCPS Garand (publicly RV Van Valen) in the Western Hemisphere, and the SCPS Tokarev (publicly RFS Filipchenko) in the Eastern Hemisphere. If SCP-1585 moves within 500km of major coastline, 250km within the boundary of a major current, or 50km of a major shipping lane, it is to be towed to a safe distance. Persons entering the area within 15km of SCP-1585 are to be informed that they are entering a marine protected sanctuary and turned away; craft which enter within 2km of SCP-1585 are to be captured and administered class C amnestics. Bi-monthly excursions to SCP-1585 are organized by Doctors Rooker and Szucs depending on SCP-1585’s current location. SCP-1585 is currently contained in the North Pacific Gyre, ~1500km south of the Aleutian Islands (40.91,178.93).
Description
SCP-1585 is a colossal specimen of the phylum Cnidaria (jellyfish) found to be most genetically similar to Chrysaora fuscescens (Pacific Sea Nettle). The bell of SCP-1585 is 544 meters across, 412 of which are above the surface of the water, with its tentacles extending over 2500 meters in length. Unlike other scyphozoans, SCP-1585’s bell constantly secretes a porous skeleton of calcium carbonate from its top, closely resembling that of anthozoan corals. This hard surface completely paralyzes SCP-1585's bell, preventing undulation. Instead, SCP-1585 will extend and retract its tentacles to “kite” subsurface currents, granting mobility. Over time, natural processes have created a small habitable area on the surface of SCP-1585's calcified bell, as well as a recruitment surface just below the water line. It is here that SCP-1585's secondary anomalous effect can be most easily observed.
Species who take residence on SCP-1585's surface will evolve at an extremely rapid rate, developing drastic adaptations in the span of only a few generations. Due to SCP-1585's mobility and apparent age (estimated at over 6000 years) it has managed to, and continues to, recruit various species of plant and animal from all around the Pacific Rim, with haplotypes in certain extant species extending to as far away as Madagascar. Competition among endemic species is fierce, constantly forcing responses to predation and competition stresses in order to keep reproductive fitness at a viable level. It is worth mentioning, however, that only adaptations conveying a higher level of fitness are seen in organisms reproducing on SCP-1585, with neutral and negative mutations entirely absent. Species endemic to SCP-1585 are capable of invading areas that SCP-1585 passes close to. Subsequent generations are not known to retain their rapid evolutionary pace once leaving SCP-1585, although their specialized adaptions often make them a threat to local ecology.
List Of Notable Species1
| Designation | Closest Known Related Species | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1585-1 | Formicarius analis (Black-faced Antthrush) | Birds had adapted specialized skulls for pecking through bones of dead animals in order to reach detritivores and marrow within. |
| 1585-21 | Cocos nucifera (Coconut Palm) | Shorter than traditional palm trees, these trees were capable of asexual budding. Believed to have been wiped out after SCP-1585 floated through a tsunami and the surviving population was quickly destroyed |
| 1585-114 | Watasenia scintillans (Firefly Squid) | These squid had adapted a thicker mantle suitable in shape for burrowing in sand. While burrowed, they would lay their arms out above the surface in a radial pattern, quickly capturing any prey that walks over them. |
| 1585-155 | Amblyrhynchus cristatus (Marine Iguana) | Believed to be one of the oldest endemic species to SCP-1585, this species has developed longer, feather-like scales, as well as long forelimbs for gliding. |
| 1585-202 | Hedera rhombea (Japanese Ivy) | This species managed to outcompete nearly every other plant species on the island in a few short years and completely blanketed SCP-1585 from 1981-1984, causing a minor extinction event resulting in the loss of 64% of terrestrial species. |
| 1585-258 | Argonauta hians (Brown Paper Nautilus) | Morphologically similar to standard members of genus Argonauta, 1585-258 lives underneath SCP-1585's bell among its tentacles, and exhibits a highly ordered social structure similar to bees. Believed to have formed a mutualistic relationship with SCP-1585, providing protection in exchange for access to SCP-1585's food. |
| 1585-304 | Chromodoris willani (Unnamed Nudibranch) | 1585-304 adaptations included a modified radula which would chemically burn chitinous shells of its former predators (consisting largely of decapod crustaceans). Unfortunately, a by-product of this reaction was hydrogen cyanide. The resulting rise in population of 1585-304 triggered another extinction event on SCP-1585, resulting in the loss of 88% of marine species, as well as 35% of terrestrial species. |
| 1585-361 | Larus hyperboreus (Glaucous Gull) | Wing and feather size reduced. Subsequent dissections revealed appearance of myoglobin in muscle tissue, corresponding with increased diving abilities. |
Discovery And History: SCP-1585 was discovered by the Foundation in 1930, following sighting of strange, non-native birds on the island of Guam, which could “peck holes through bone”. SCP-1585 was discovered 245km to the northeast and had raised suspicion due to not appearing on any map or nautical chart. Following the second observed extinction event caused by species 1585-304, the current special containment procedures were enacted, and SCP-1585 was relocated to the Northern Hemisphere. Recruitment rates have dropped significantly due to lower diversity, and the population of SCP-1585 has somewhat stabilized.