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A Harpy has a long and sinuous body with massive leathery wings and a broad, armoured head. To better harness thermal currents, its body is hollow, resulting in it being relatively fragile compared to Tyranid creatures of similar size. However it has superior agility in their air than even technological fighter-crafts can manage. The Harpies undersides are covered in bloated cysts that can rain down [[Spore Mine]]s onto luckless prey. It can also emit an ear-splitting shriek that might rupture eardrums and is excruciatingly painful or even fatal, and at the very least causes disorientation. It may also be given [[twin-linked]] [[Stranglethorn Cannon]]s, [[Heavy Venom Cannon]]s or [[Scything Talons]], equipped according to the tactical needs of the [[Hive Fleet]].{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|3}} Opportunistic by nature, Harpies avoid protracted assaults, preferring instead strafing runs and swooping dives, or engaging enemy skimmers ill-suited to fighting back.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}
Their shriek is what gave them their name.{{Fn|3}} {{WIP}}Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus have argued whether Harpies and Trygons are closely related bio-forms or separate genuses in their own right. However, few comparative studies have been made, and to date, phylogenetic categorization remains highly speculative. Lending weight relation to the arguments of those taxonomists who classify the two life forms as distinct Trygons is a highly argued topic by the fact that, unlike the sturdy, heavily armoured carapace Magos Biologis of the Trygon, the Harpy’s frame is relatively fragile (though still quite resilient by human standards)Adeptus Mechanicus. {{Fn|3}}
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