Air yam vs koala

Dioscorea bulbifera compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

Air yam is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Air yam	koala
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Dioscoreales (Dioscoreales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Dioscoreaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Dioscorea	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Dioscorea bulbifera	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Air yam

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Air yam	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Air yam

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (5 countries), Asia (4 countries), North America (13 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (9 countries), and South America (4 countries).

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.

Air yam

The Air yam (Dioscorea bulbifera) is a species in the genus Dioscorea. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

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.