The Sandspear is one of two creatures required to unlock the Bioluminescence passive biomod from the Bio Lab in Subnautica 2. It's a small, aggressive ambush hunter with a tube-shaped body, light purple and bone-white coloring, and six black spikes along its sides. Logging it as a databank entry takes a dedicated bio scan, not the standard Scanner used for blueprints.
What the Sandspear bio scan unlocks
The Bio Lab inside the Welcome Center holds active and passive biomods. One of the early passive slots shows as an Unknown Biomod with two bio scan requirements listed: Sandspear and Electric Geordie. Completing both reveals the biomod as Bioluminescence, described as "Glow in the dark."
Bio scans are distinct from the standard Scanner used to unlock crafting blueprints. They're performed with the Bioscanner, an upgrade to the regular Scanner, and they log databank entries on Proteus fauna that the Bio Lab then reads to unlock biomods.
What you need before scanning
Going after the Sandspear without preparation is the most common reason runs fail. The creature is hostile and lunges on approach, and the trip to where Sandspears appear is long enough that oxygen and hull integrity both become real concerns.
| Requirement | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Bioscanner | Standard Scanner does not register bio scans. The Bioscanner is built from your existing Scanner, Enameled Glass x2, and Conduit Crystal x3. |
| Tadpole submersible | The route to Sandspear territory crosses a large stretch of seabed. Swimming it raw burns oxygen and exposes you to hostile fauna. |
| Oxygen upgrade | Standard or High Capacity Air Tank, ideally paired with the Rebreather to slow drain at depth. |
| Knife or weapon | The Sandspear attacks on approach. You need to scan during or right after the lunge window without dying. |
How to bio scan a Sandspear
Step 1: Open the Bio Lab in your base and confirm the Unknown Biomod requirements. The passive slot should list "Bio Scan: Sandspear" as outstanding. This verifies the entry isn't already logged from earlier exploration.
Step 2: Enter the Tadpole at the dock and press the pilot prompt. Load it with a charged battery and bring the Bioscanner in your hotbar so you can swap to it the moment you exit.
Step 3: Travel out across the seabed toward a region with rocky terrain and coral. Sandspears drift slowly in open water at moderate depths, and they're not buried in sand despite the name. Watch for the tube-shaped body and the black spike pattern along the abdomen.
Step 4: Park the Tadpole near the seabed and exit. Approach the Sandspear with the Bioscanner equipped. An on-screen prompt reading "Scan Sandspear" appears when you're in range.
Step 5: Hold the scan input on the creature until the bar completes. The Sandspear will lunge once it detects you, so either tank the hit, back off and re-approach, or interrupt its attack to keep the scan progressing.
Step 6: Wait for the confirmation. A notification slides in from the left of the screen reading NEW DATABANK ENTRY: SANDSPEAR. That message is the only confirmation that the bio scan registered with the Bio Lab.
Pairing it with the Electric Geordie scan
Bioluminescence won't unlock from the Sandspear alone. The second requirement, the Electric Geordie, is a small blue star-shaped creature found in a much deeper, dark-green environment near a large cylindrical alien structure. Reaching it pushes the Tadpole past a "WARNING: CRUSH DEPTH. HULL DAMAGE IMMINENT" threshold, so a depth module on the Tadpole helps.
Once both scans are logged, return to the Bio Lab. The previously unknown slot updates to show Bioluminescence with both bio scans marked as completed, and the biomod becomes available to equip.
How to know it worked
- The on-screen notification reads "NEW DATABANK ENTRY: SANDSPEAR" immediately after the scan completes.
- Opening the Bio Lab terminal shows "Bio Scan: Sandspear" as completed under the Bioluminescence requirements.
- The databank itself contains a new entry for the Sandspear.
If the scan bar fills but no notification appears, you used the standard Scanner instead of the Bioscanner. Standard scans don't satisfy biomod requirements, even when the creature is a valid fauna target. Rebuild or equip the Bioscanner and repeat the approach on any Sandspear, the entry only needs to be logged once.