SCP Gryphon Anatomy Preliminary Report

Item #: SCP-1386 [Secure, Contain, Protect Protocol TIN69]

Submitted by: H. Aetus

Date: 20200806

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Subject is dead and harmless. However, it is prone to decomposition so it is maintained in a stasis pod when not being examined. Although free of known zoonotic pathogens and parasites, it is recommended to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) compatible with at least Biosafety Level 1 protocols. These include surgical gown, sterile gloves, surgical cap and mask, and eye protection. This minimal level of PPE will prevent biological contamination of the specimen and help ensure that it degrades as little as possible when not in stasis. This is necessary given the extremely rare nature of the specimen.

Description: SCP-[UNASSIGNED] is a deceased adult male felid-avian hybrid (aka “gryphon”). The creature was discovered in the Balsa Puero District of Peru, coordinates [Redacted], following its collision with a Cessna 210 on November 3, 201█. All occupants of the aircraft died instantly from trauma and so there were no living witnesses. During the resultant SAR operation, the aircraft was discovered in a densely forested valley. The pattern of debris immediately suggested the aircraft had broken apart mid-air before striking the ground. First impressions were that a military aircraft or well-equipped cartel using military weaponry had shot the aircraft down but all parties denied involvement. This rumor, however, continues to circulate, unabated, in the media today.

A closer examination of the aircraft revealed clumps of large feathers, skin, and hair attached to the shredded aluminum skin of the right wing. To the casual observer, it appeared to be a bird strike. However, the sheer size of the feathers, larger than the largest flying birds currently living, and the presence of fur, confounded explanation. Local native tribesmen present in the SAR party were unable, or perhaps unwilling, to explain the animal artifacts. Fortunately, an SCP agent was present within the SAR hierarchy of the Peruvian government and upon hearing rumors of the extraordinary animal fibers, they deployed to the site of the wreck immediately to conduct a thorough, albeit discrete, investigation.

Taking a single guide and with the assistance of drones, the agent surveyed the surrounding area and discovered the carcass of SCP-[UNASSIGNED] approximately 500 meters east of the crash site. The carcass was in excellent condition except for a fractured left humerus and shattered cervical vertebrae. The analysis from the field was that creature had probably fractured its wing in the aircraft collision and was subsequently killed by impact with the ground.

An SCP team was immediately dispatched to the site for containment and the subject committed to a secure laboratory for analysis. What follows are the detailed notes of Dr. [Redacted], referred to hence forth as “B” or “Dr. B.”

Necropsy Report

Subject: Felid-Avian Hybrid SCP-[UNASSIGNED]

Carcass Condition: Excellent

Storage Conditions: Transported in a containment pod refrigerated to a consistent temperature of 10° C with a transit of 16 hours and total time elapsed since death of approximately 22 hours.

Body Plan: The creature is bilaterally symmetrical, resembling a felid in general body plan and hindlimbs along with avian-style forelimbs, wings, and the head and facial features of a bird of prey. One exception to the avian head plan was that there are external ear pinnae covered in soft feathers. The hindlimbs are muscular with thick haunches and thigh musculature. The tail was also muscular, typical of the tail of a jaguar, except for a tuft of feathers at the tip that formed two apposing lateral planes, similar to a bird tail. The wings resembled those of an eagle and share the same shoulder attachment as the forelegs. The cranial half of the creature is covered almost completely in plumage whereas the caudal half is covered in fine, soft hair. The antebrachia are bare but clad with thick yellow skin replete with avian-style scales and scutes. The coloration is charcoal-black over most of the body except for white throat and breast feathers (with small dark chevrons on many of the contour feathers) and white upper wing coverts. The feathers at the tip of the tail are white with black stripes of increasing thickness that start mid-rachis and transition to dark terminal bands.

Head Details: The beak is yellow with black tip and there is a fleshy yellow cere covering the caudal culmen, which transitions to darkly feathered forehead. The gape is deep so that the commissures of the oral cavity are positioned directly under the eyes, suggestive of a creature that feeds on large boluses of food, much like an eagle. The irises are a shade of yellow slightly lighter than the beak with streaks of light gold in the pleats of the irises. The anterior chambers of the eyes are collapsed from loss of aqueous fluid production after death. There are three eyelids present: Two feathered external lids and a third, membranous eyelid that was covering the forward part of the collapsed globe. The pinnae are an extraordinary deviation from the avian appearance of the head. They resemble feline ears in structure and mobility, presumable able to swivel and fold for conveying mood or adjusting auditory focus. The oral cavity will be described later.

Pectoral Limbs: There are, essentially, 2 pairs of forelimbs. Henceforth I shall refer to the anterior-most forelimbs, which are modified into avian-style feet for standing, as “forelimbs” or “forelegs.” The second pair of forelimbs, which connect at a point just caudal and dorsal to the forelegs and which are modified into wings, I shall refer to as “wings.”

I am excited to dissect the shoulder region to see the hybridization of musculature and the structure of the joints that would allow movement of two limbs from the same skeletal support structure. Preliminary radiographs were obtained and demonstrate that the foreleg humerus articulates in a shallow socket joint, similar to a feline shoulder. Palpation confirms that there are substantial infra- and supraspinatus muscles, along with the other muscles as one would expect in the brachium (upper foreleg) of a large cat. However, the lower leg structure is decidedly avian with the attendant consolidation of muscles in the proximal portion of the antebrachium of the foreleg (e.g., the upper “forearm” if one was to compare to a human) so that the lower extremity and digits are primarily moved by tendons, much like an avian leg and foot. There are three digits cranial and one digit caudal on each forefoot. Digit #1 can swivel from a caudal orientation (to oppose the cranial three digits) to a medio-cranial orientation, similar to a thumb on a person. The digits are tipped with large talons with the talon of digit 2 being the largest (measuring 15 cm in chord). The external cover of the shoulders and upper leg is avian-style skin (no discernable glands, highly flexible and thin skin) covered in charcoal-colored, contour feathers and filoplumes. Most of the contour feathers in this region demonstrate a substantial afterfeather that resembles a semiplume. No doubt this provides insulation for high altitude living, which may be the primary habitat for this creature. The lower foreleg, from mid-antebrachium distal, is covered in thick yellow scutes and scales. The palmar surface of the manus is covered in spiculated skin, similar in texture to the plantar aspect of an eagle’s foot.

The spread wings have an overall squarish-oval outline, resembling the shape of a harpy eagle’s wing. They are probably excellent for soaring but also for powered pursuit of prey. The pectoral muscles for the wings are separate from those of the forelegs. They wrap forward over the foreleg to attach to the cranial portion of the thorax. Radiographs demonstrate an impressive keel structure and the presence of a thick coracoid bone in direct apposition to the fibers of the wing’s pectoral muscles. As in avians, this likely prevents the collapse of the thorax during powerful downstrokes of the wings. The shoulder is also avian-like in that the humerus of the wing articulates with the clavicle, scapula, and coracoid simultaneously. These are situated on a separate scapula from the forelegs which is located dorsally and caudally from the foreleg shoulder. This appears to facilitate independent shoulder actuation of wing and foreleg separately. The remainder of the wing structure is exactly similar to an eagle, just scaled up enormously. The wingspan is 10.2 meters, wing chord is 4.4 meters.

[End of Part 1]

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