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Well, it arrived yesterday, and I've now had time to absorb and digest the contents, ready to spew forth broods of information...
The Hive Tyrant and Tyranid Warrior entries bring little new to the fray, aside from 'real-world' notations of their mean height, weight, etc (for example, a Hive Tyrant stands on average 2.9m tall, and weighs over 6 tonnes). These are useful for comparing the larger creatures to their machine counterparts in other races.
The Hierophant is depicted very much as a front-line heavy assault beast, advancing at the head of a major tyranid attack, drawing fire from the rest of the force (an withstanding it) before impacting with the enemy lines. It stands some 13.45m tall (just slightly shorter than the Warhound, though, being quadrupedal, it stands longer than the Imperial Scout Titan) and weighs 51 tonnes. In battle, it's legs serve as scything talons, while it's frontmost limbs mount a biocannon each - these biocannons (examples of which can be seen all across the menagerie of creatures in the book) are powerful weapons indeed (in 40k terms, they're Strength 10, AP3, Range 48" and Assault 1, Large Blast, making them easily capable of tearing apart most vehicles and all but the most resilient infantry units). On the Hierophant, these are seperate weapons, capable of firing independantly of one another. It also mounts a trailing mass of Lash Whips, which attack lesser enemies who stray into melee with it, and exudes a fog of toxic spores which are deadly to nearby non-Tyranids. It's a fast-moving creature - able to move as quickly as termagants or other 'fleet of foot' troops in 40k, and it's resilience (gained from being Tougness 8, with a 2+ save, 5+ invulnerable save, 5 wounds and 3 Mass points) is further increased by the ability to regenerate lost wounds (Roll a D6 for each lost wound; on a 6, that wound is restored).
The Scythed Hierodule is unchanged from previous mentions of the creature in Forgeworld's books, while the Barbed Hierodule has changed little in background, but considerably in rules, mounting twinlinked Biocannons of the same kind described earler with the Hierophant.
The Harridan is of some interest, as it reinforces some ideas already mentioned on this forum. The Harridan itself is considered the largest flying Tyranid creature ever encountered. It lacks the comparative speed of jet fighters, but is far more agile in the air, allowing it to avoid ground fire and enemy interceptors. They're considered to be brood mothers for Gargoyle swarms, theorising that Gargoyles themselves lack the endurance for long-distance flights, and instead nestle against the belly of the Harridan until called upon to detach and swoop downwards upon the enemy.
The relevant part is that Harridans are described as being encountered in a range of sizes, with the largest (represented by the various forgeworld models) being around 30m long and with a wingspan of 40m, but numerous smaller examples having been previously identified...
The entry for the Trygon suggests that it may have evolved from the creature dubbed "The Red Terror", or that the Red Terror was an evolutionary stepping stone leading towards a larger species of Tyranicus Subterra. The Trygon itself was first encountered during engagements on the surface of Beta Anphelion IV - the fourth moon of the gas giant, Beta Anphelion.
The Malanthrope is a rarely-seen form of Synapse Creature, often mistaken for an over-sized Zoanthrope due to their similar means of locomotion, and the considerable distances at which Malanthropes are observed. Their role makes them second-line commanders, directing Ripper Swarms as they consume the biomatter left in the wake of a battle. It is theorised to actively hunt down unique or unusual genetic code, absorbing it slowly from within the sacks that run along it's torso, where the dead, injured and even still-living remnants of a battle are placed after being forced down it's maw, stunned and poisoned repeatedly by the tendrils that hang from it's mouth.
The Meiotic Spores - originally believed to be simply overgrown Spore Mines - were initially encountered on Beta Anphelion IV, when a cluster of them forced a Thunderhawk belonging to the Red Scorpions chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, to crash land. Little more can be said about them that wasn't already known.
The entry for 'Tyranid flora' - Capillary Towers and Spore Chimneys - gives further mention of the phases of a Tyranid onslaught, and suggests that they, as well as Brood Nests and Reclaimation Pools, are fully formed, or at least present in quantity, by the end of the Third Phase and the beginning of Phase IV. The Spore Chimneys serve to generate spores which pollute and alter the atmosphere, as well as mutating or supplanting the local fauna and flora with more agressive tyranid-like species. The Capillary Towers serve a role important in later stages, serving as a nexus for a group of reclaimation pools; towards the end of an invasion, these will connect with the feeding tubes of tyranid 'spacecraft' in low orbit, which pull the matter from the reclaimation pools up through the Capillary tower and then into the ships themselves.
Brood Nests begin forming during the Subjugation Phase, appearing on the surface to be a cluster of entrance holes, which connect to large, womb-like caverns, within which are spawned assorted tyranid creatures, which will emerge fully-grown, having developed - fully mature - from gestation in a matter of days, often waiting in hibernation until required. The Brood Nest was first encountered on Miral Prime, around the same time as the Hierophant, and it was believed at the time that larger creatures would be grown aboard the ships and then delivered to the surface in mycetic spores or through delivery tubes extending from hiveships in low orbit. The lack of a Hive Ship present on Beta Anphelion IV, yet the presence of Hierophants and Hierodules, suggests that far larger Brood Nests do exist.
Unfortunately, it appears that the previously mentioned Haruspex didn't make the final version of the book, for whatever reason. The "Other Tyranid Creatures" section gives a brief overview of many of the commonly-encountered Tyranids not already covered in the book, from Gaunts, Genestealers and Gargoyles to Lictors, Biovores and Carnifex.
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. came in the early post so I am reading it at work. So much gribbly stuff. 
