Pneumopteria, which are also referred to as cloud whales or cloud sponges, and occasionally, in scientific language, as pneumospongia, in older treatises often sky leviathans, were gigantic, cloud-like creatures that seemed to float freely in the atmosphere without movement or propulsion. They could be several hundred meters in size. Today, they must most likely be considered extinct because of their often-proven sensitivity to anthropogenic electromagnetic radiation.
In contrast, they were observed more frequently in historical times and described in many cultures and contexts. The history of the study of Pneumopteria ranges from Stone Age cave drawings to what is believed to be the last sighting in 2006 in the South Atlantic. In the past, their appearance was considered a bad omen, so they were often rendered as flying monsters or monstrosities. This only changed with the new image reproduction methods of modern times.
With his research, published as a book in 2023, Roland Boden provides the first comprehensive introduction to the nature, appearance and behavior of pneumopteria and formulates an outline of the history of their research, description and reception.
Roland Boden, born 1962 in Dresden, lives in Berlin and works as an artist, author and gravity expert. Occupation with the problem of the reversibility of the uncertain.