Garden arion vs koala

Arion hortensis compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• Garden arion is Least Concern while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Garden arion	koala
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Stylommatophora (Stylommatophora)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Arionidae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Arion	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Arion hortensis	Phascolarctos cinereus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Garden arion

LC — Least Concern

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Garden arion

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

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.

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.