Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-46.162.84.254-20130704080553/@comment-6078851-20140713161919

the time frame of tyranids travelling between galaxies means that they pre-date the old ones by a long, long way. in fact it's likely that they are older than all life that developed in the milky-way.

but until/unless there's official lore stating that the old ones did or didn't create the tyranids then it's all just theories, one way or the other. but the likliest scenario is that tyranids evolved on their own many galaxies away and billions (at least) of years ago.

the old ones did indeed have the capability to create new life but i think tyranid bio-technology would have been beyond their capacity to create - look at the races they did create and nowhere is there even the slightest hint of tyranid-esque technology. but the old ones were peace-lovin' supersmart friendly neighbourhood aliens, so why in the name of every 40k god would they create something as inherently hostile, and all consumingly (pun intended) overpowering as tyranids?!? that would make as much sense as space wolves taking up knitting and crossword puzzles, and becoming vegans :P