SCP-313-JP mid-camouflage
Item #: SCP-313-JP
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-313-JP is contained in an insect breeding cage at Site-81██’s Low-Risk Biological Husbandry Wing. The temperature and humidity of the facility must be kept at appropriate values at all times, and food must be provided regularly. To prevent SCP-313-JP eggs from entering one’s oral cavity, personnel are required to wear masks when in contact with SCP-313-JP while taking care of and researching them. In the event that a SCP-313-JP parasitation case is reported, an agent is to be dispatched, a cover story applied, and the people involved amnesticized.
Description: SCP-313-JP is an unknown arthropod with an ecology similar to damp-ground aquatic stinkbugs mainly found in the ██ region of Japan. Adults have a size of about 8～15mm, with a round, thin, shield-shaped body, and a pale pink exoskeleton made of keratin, as well as three pairs of appendages. Despite its look, its thickness being less than 1mm, and its slender legs, SCP-313-JP has immensely strong leg power.
SCP-313-JP is a known human parasite, entering the human body by laying eggs on the leaves of plants and other vegetables. SCP-313-JP eggs hatch inside the gut, crawl into the lymph ducts, reach the end of the extremities, and paraticize the nail matrix, using the nail’s production capacity to build their own bodies. They slowly grow at a rate of about 0.05～0.08mm per day, and extrude from the body like a normal nail, fully replacing the nail after 7~8 months. Its appearance is extremely similar to that of fingernails, and it is difficult to detect the parasite without detailed inspection, such as X-ray photography. Multiple eggs are swallowed during an SCP-313-JP oral infection, and almost all hosts present SCP-313-JP parasitization on the fingernails of all limbs.
During parasitism, SCP-313-JP shows very few signs of activity. However, if SCP-313-JP’s body is damaged by external causes, SCP-313-JP becomes active. In most cases, this occurs when the host damages the exoskeleton of SCP-313-JP with nail clippers. It is known that, in this case, all SCP-313-JP infecting the host become active, although it is not known how this information is shared between all parasites. All activated SCP-313-JP instances will attempt to separate from the host, using their legs to pry themselves from the fingernails. As the bodies of SCP-313-JP instances are held in place by keratin like a normal fingernail, it takes several seconds for all instances to separate from the host, a process which is incredibly painful for the host.
Since the discovery of SCP-313-JP in 19██, a total of ████ cases of human parasitism have been reported, and a seizure operation is being carried out with the goal of exterminating and/or containing all SCP-313-JP instances.