koala vs

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Methanococcus maripaludis

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Archaea (Archaea)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Methanobacteriota_A
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Methanococci (Methanococci)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Methanococcales (Methanococcales)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Methanococcaceae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Methanococcus
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Methanococcus maripaludis

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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.

Methanococcus maripaludis is a mesophilic, hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaeon in the family Methanococcaceae, isolated from salt marsh sediments. It has become an important model organism for studying methanogenesis, archaeal metabolism, and gene regulation due to well-developed genetic tools available for this species. It produces methane by reducing carbon dioxide with hydrogen under strictly anaerobic conditions.