Bellyache bush vs koala

Jatropha gossypiifolia compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

Bellyache bush is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bellyache bush	koala
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Euphorbiaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Jatropha	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Jatropha gossypiifolia	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Bellyache bush

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bellyache bush	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bellyache bush

Habitat

Inhabits flooded grasslands and savannas within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (20 countries), Asia (11 countries), North America (8 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (5 countries), and South America (Bolivia, 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.

Bellyache bush

The Bellyache bush (Jatropha gossypiifolia) is a species in the genus Jatropha. Inhabits flooded grasslands and savannas within the Afrotropic 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.