koala vs Northern Emerald

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Somatochlora arctica

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Northern Emerald is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Northern Emerald
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Corduliidae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Somatochlora
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Somatochlora arctica

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Northern Emerald

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Northern Emerald
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.

Northern Emerald

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Ukraine. Currently classified as Endangered 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.

Northern Emerald

Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.