Berkeley's Earthstar vs koala

Geastrum berkeleyi compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

Berkeley's Earthstar is Extinct while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Berkeley's Earthstar	koala
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Geastrales (Geastrales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Geastraceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Geastrum	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Geastrum berkeleyi	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Berkeley's Earthstar

EX — Extinct

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Berkeley's Earthstar	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Berkeley's Earthstar

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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.

Berkeley's Earthstar

The Berkeley's Earthstar (Geastrum berkeleyi) is a species in the genus Geastrum. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

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.