Hybridisation in Calopteryx orientalis (Sélys) East of the shores of the south Caspian lake (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

C. orientalis occupies a narrow fringe along the southern rim of the Caspian lake. East of the Caspian, it hybridises with C. samarcandica Bartenev, 1912. The hybrid zone takes the form of a progressive dine, and extends from the Kopet Dag, across the Tedzhen-Harirud to the Murgab catchments. The Karakumskyi canal is suspected to speed up hybridisation considerably.