The *what* of Western Bahamas?

"Shallow-water sponges of the Western Bahamas" is a reference book signed Felix Wiedenmayer, with the mysterious subtitle "Experientia Supplementarum 28". It was published by Birkhäuser in 1977 in the bustling European metropolises of Basel and Stuttgart, rather than in sleepy little Nassau.

I'm being flippant, of course. Frankly, this must be one of the most obscure books I've ever seen! Sponges?!

According to the abstract, this voluminous work is a taxonomic study of the shallow-water sponges of the western Bahamas, particularly the Bimini area. It's supplemented with extensive ecological data. The sponge fauna described is the most diverse among the local West Indian faunas known so far. (At least it was, back in 1977.) Of a total of 82 described species, 81 are demosponges, and only one is a calcerous sponge. The abstract even states that very small and boring forms have been omitted from the work. At first I suspected that Wiedenmayer might be a soul mate of mine, I mean a sponge-infatuated scientist who actually thinks that some sponges are BORING?! However, I quickly realized that he probably means sponges which bore into something, hence "boring" sponges. Damn. We are also informed that the author himself collected most of the specimens analyzed in his book, by diving around Bimini, sometimes using SCUBA. I say this guy combined business with pleasure, major time!

And the rest of his encyclopedia? Previous literature on Bahamian sponges is critiqued. Apparently, Hyatt 1875/1877 used a peculiar taxonomic approach and made speculative and confused use of names derived from Duchaissang and Michelotti 1864. I always suspected there was something "spongy" about old Michelotti. At least in 1977, much still remained to be done in sponge-research, at least around the beaches of Bimini. The vernacular names of species in the genus Spongia used by sponge-fishers were often more reliable than the scientific names! Imagine that. There are also chapters on classification, intraspecific variability and methods of collection. The most unintentionally humorous section of the book is the Glossary, which contains a veritable barrier reef of bizarre scientific terms probably only used by the small group of scientists studying sponges: schachfigur, sigma, sanidaster, schizolectotype, rhabd, microdichocalthrops, and microcavernous choanosome. (I'm probably a schizolectotype myself.)

The species presentations are divided into the following sections: Type material, Description, Remarks on taxonomy and nomenclature, Material, Occurance. At the back of the book, there are plates with black-and-white photos of the relevant species. I admit they are quite "boring".

Further chapters in this work, compiled with the usual German thoroughness, deal with ecology, zoogeography, a general description of the habitat and communities of Bimini, and a discussion of some important collections of West Indian type specimens (including a collection made by our old friends Duchassaing and Michelotti). There are also short biographies of the collectors - the community of sponge-collectors obviously isn't all that large. It's also revealed that four foundations in Switzerland financed the publication of this book.

I'm not sure how to rate "Shallow-water sponges of the Western Bahamas", I mean, I never been to the Bahamas, and if I had, I'm sure shallow-water sponges would be the least of my concerns. Still, I'm convinced that Felix Wiedenmayer really has compiled the sponge-book to end all sponge-books, indeed the great grandmother of all sponge-books, so naturally I must award him and the publisher at Basel FIVE stars.

Next week: Ashtar Command really gets "under the water" and tells you all about the cephalopods of the German Plankton expedition!

Yeah, really.