beaked tasselweed vs koala

Ruppia maritima compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• beaked tasselweed is Extinct while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	beaked tasselweed	koala
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Alismatales (Alismatales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Ruppiaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Ruppia	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Ruppia maritima	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

beaked tasselweed

EX — Extinct

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	beaked tasselweed	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

beaked tasselweed

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (7 countries), North America (Canada), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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.

beaked tasselweed

The Beaked tasselweed (Ruppia maritima) is a species in the genus Ruppia. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

koala

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.