In certain instances, Hive Ships have been driven away from a world by its defenders, leaving Tyranid ground forces left behind on the planetary surface isolated from the Hive Mind. In such circumstances, Rippers have been known to burrow below ground and then spend the time using their absorbed biomass to metamorphose into more advanced Tyranid bioforms. This has led many among the Adeptus Mechanicus' Magi Biologis to believe that Rippers are an immature form of the prime Tyrancii genus. This would mean that Rippers are theoretically capable of gestating into any other type of Tyranid bioform when given the right signals from the Hive Mind, potentially allowing Rippers to transform into any Tyranid bioform known, from a Hive Tyrant to a Hormagaunt.