Spore Mine

Spore Mines are a type of near-mindless Tyranid creature which appear in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Description
Essentially a bladder inflated with lighter-than-air gases combined with an organic reactive agent, Spore Mines are organisms with virtually no intelligence beyond that necessary to detect nearby lifeforms and trigger their explosives. Deployed either from orbit by the enormous Hive Ships prior to a Tyranid assault or via the biological cannon of a Biovore, they will float around a planet aimlessly until a non-Tyranid creature comes close enough to be detected by their rudimentary senses. When this occurs the Spore Mine will detonate, spraying everything within a considerable radius with whatever load it contains.

Although Spore Mines are living beings, they do not appear to require sustenance of any kind, and have been known to drift across an infected planet for years with no detriment to their explosive power.

Common Types
Whilst Spore Mines all share the same basic body type and function, there nevertheless exist several different configurations, some of which are listed below.

Bio-Acid
These Mines spray a cocktail of highly corrosive substances when they explode, eating through both flesh and armour plating with ease.

Fragmentation
Coated in a rock-hard shell, when detonated these Mines eject shards of this material in all directions in a manner similar to a conventional fragmentation grenade.

Poison
Upon triggering, poison Mines spread a miasma of lethal toxins when triggered. These substances are usually tailored to be fatal to whatever organisms happen to inhabit the planet they are unleashed upon.