koala vs Red-shanked Bumblebee

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Bombus ruderarius

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Red-shanked Bumblebee is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Red-shanked Bumblebee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Apidae (Bees)
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Bombus
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Bombus ruderarius

Evolutionary Relationship

koala and Red-shanked Bumblebee share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Red-shanked Bumblebee

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Red-shanked Bumblebee
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.

Red-shanked Bumblebee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.