vs koala

Cobetia crustatorum compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		koala
Kingdom	Bacteria (Bacteria)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Proteobacteria (Proteobacteria)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Gammaproteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Pseudomonadales (Pseudomonadales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Halomonadaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Cobetia	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Cobetia crustatorum	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

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.

Cobetia crustatorum is a halophilic gram-negative bacterium in the family Halomonadaceae, closely related to other salt-tolerant members of the genus Cobetia. This aerobic, chemoorganotrophic organism was originally described from saline crustacean-associated environments, with its species epithet 'crustatorum' referring to its association with crustaceans. Like its congeners, C. crustatorum is adapted to thrive in environments with sodium chloride concentrations well above those tolerable by most mesophilic bacteria, typically growing optimally at 5–15% NaCl. The organism exhibits the characteristic gram-negative cell wall architecture and typically appears as short rods or ovoid cells under microscopy. Cobetia crustatorum has been documented from coastal Taiwanese marine habitats, where it participates in the decomposition of organic materials in saline sediments and associated with marine invertebrates. It produces extremolytes such as ectoine that protect cellular machinery from osmotic stress and desiccation. The organism is aerobic and motile, using polar flagella for locomotion in its aqueous saline environment. Taxonomically, the genus Cobetia was reclassified from Halomonas following phylogenetic analyses that revealed distinct evolutionary lineages within the broader Halomonadaceae family. Research on Cobetia species is ongoing due to their potential applications in biotechnology, particularly for biosurfactant and extremolyte production in industrial settings. Conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN.

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.