American Shield Fern vs koala

Dryopteris intermedia compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

American Shield Fern is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Shield Fern	koala
Kingdom	Plantae (نباتات)	Animalia (حيوانات)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (حبليات)
Class	Polypodiopsida (سراخس رقيقة المباغ)	Mammalia (ثدييات)
Order	Polypodiales (سرخسيات)	Diprotodontia (ثنائيات الأسنان الأمامية)
Family	Dryopteridaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Dryopteris	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Dryopteris intermedia	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

American Shield Fern

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Shield Fern	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Shield Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Canada, France, Norway, and United States.

koala

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found in Australia. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

American Shield Fern

The American Shield Fern (Dryopteris intermedia) is a species in the genus Dryopteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Iconic marsupial of eastern and southeastern Australia, koalas weigh up to 15 kg and spend up to 22 hours daily sleeping to conserve energy from their low-calorie eucalyptus leaf diet. Highly specialized to process toxic eucalyptus compounds that would kill most other mammals, they have gut microbiomes uniquely adapted for detoxification. Listed as Endangered in 2022, with populations decimated by chlamydia disease, habitat clearing, and climate change.