In the northeastern Brazilian states such as Bahia, the dry climatic conditions that predominate inland determined the retraction of the distribution of mesic species and the isolation of tracts of Atlantic Forest in the higher hills, usually on the watershed facing the ocean. During past geological epochs, however, the surrounding environment was wetter allowing the expansion of rain forest and the migration of its species, including bromeliads. Recent collections in one of those hills, which are today partially covered by Atlantic Forest, demonstrated the existence of two new bromeliads closely related to endemic species known only from the mountains of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, hundreds of kilometers to the south. The species described here may be considered witness of the speciation process caused by isolation after climatic catastrophes of remote periods. —SeeLeme 1995cp. 45(4): 147-151
