koala vs Shetland Mouse-ear

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Cerastium nigrescens

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Shetland Mouse-ear is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Shetland Mouse-ear
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Caryophyllaceae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Cerastium
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Cerastium nigrescens

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Shetland Mouse-ear

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Shetland Mouse-ear
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.

Shetland Mouse-ear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across 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.