Abstract
Two Martes species occur in Hokkaido. They are the sable (M. zibellina), which is native to Hokkaido, and the Japanese marten (M. melampus), which was introduced to Hokkaido. We examined whether these two Martes species in Hokkaido can be distinguished in photographs. We first conducted a blind test on an expert to see whether his photograph identifications of the two Martes species are reliable. On the basis of the positive results of the test, we developed identification keys by thoroughly examining our collection of Martes photographs and asked novices to identify the species in photographs according to the keys. On the basis of these latter results, the keys were revised and provided in the Appendix along with general descriptions of the fur color of the two Martes species in Hokkaido.
