Gzhelian brachiopods of the family Linoproductidae Stehli and regularities in their evolution in the Middle and Late Carboniferous of the Moscow Region

This paper completes the revision of the Middle and Late Carboniferous brachiopods of the family Linoproductidae from the Moscow Region. The species cannot be completely described according to the methods previously elaborated by the author because of the poor state of preservation of the material from Gzhelian deposits. Problems of the generic diagnostics of the Gzhelian linoproductids are discussed; a new species, Linispinus parvus, is described from the uppermost Kasimovian deposits that have been referred to the Gzhelian Stage. Regularities in the group evolution in the Moscovian, Kasimovian, and Gzhelian ages are analyzed.