common intertidal amphipod vs koala

Gammarus locusta compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• common intertidal amphipod is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common intertidal amphipod	koala
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Malacostraca (Crustaceans)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Amphipoda (Amphipoda)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Gammaridae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Gammarus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Gammarus locusta	Phascolarctos cinereus

Evolutionary Relationship

common intertidal amphipod and koala share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

common intertidal amphipod

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

common intertidal amphipod

Habitat

Typically found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, 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.

common intertidal amphipod

<em>Gammarus locusta</em>, commonly known as the common intertidal amphipod, is a crustacean in the family Gammaridae. Its conservation status has not been formally evaluated by the IUCN. The species is recorded from Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, indicating a distribution along the northeastern Atlantic coast of Europe. It typically inhabits intertidal and shallow subtidal marine and estuarine environments, where it is found among algae, under rocks, and in sediments. Gammarus amphipods are ecologically important as detritivores and as prey for shorebirds, fish, and other invertebrates in coastal food webs. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

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.