Anheteromeyenia vitrea (Porifera: Demospongiae) new species of continental sponge in Brazil

The siliceous spicules of continental sponges have proved to be valuable tools in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, whenever they are perceived in columns of recovered quaternary sediments. The spicules of such sponge collected at grassland subjected to short flooding periods in the Vale Nature Reserve, a preserved coastal area of Atlantic Rain Forest at Espirito Santo State (Brazil), were detected in soil samples recovered in the same region. Study under SEM of materials of the collected specimens indicated the need for description of Anheteromeyenia vitrea n. sp. and redefinition of genus Anheteromeyenia , with Nearctic/Neotropical distribution. Key words: Neotropical freshwater sponges, genus Anheteromeyenia redefined, Spodosol, preserved coastal area.