摘要:The Lower Lutetian hyaloclastites cropping out in the Val di Chiampo (Vicenza, northern Italy) containa very rich and diversified siliceous sponge fauna. In this paper we give preliminary determinations andillustrations of 23 siliceous sponge species. The most abundant are the Lychniscosa, with ten species, followedby Hexactinosa, with seven species, and Lithistida, with six species.Twelve species are in open nomenclature, five are identical or similar to species described by Pisera andBusquets (2002), from the Bartonian of the Ebro Basin (Spain), and five are compared with species describedby Pomel (1872) from the Miocene of Algeria. From a paleoecological point of view, it is supposed that thesponge fauna inhabited the euphotic zone.