Koala vs Red-Fruited Pixie Cup

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Cladonia pleurota

Key Differences

• Koala is Vulnerable while Red-Fruited Pixie Cup is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Koala	Red-Fruited Pixie Cup
Kingdom	Animalia (Tier)	Fungi (Pilze)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordatiere)	Ascomycota (Schlauchpilze)
Class	Mammalia (Säugetiere)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Lecanorales (Lecanorales)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Cladoniaceae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Cladonia
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Cladonia pleurota

Conservation Status

Koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Red-Fruited Pixie Cup

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Koala	Red-Fruited Pixie Cup
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-Fruited Pixie Cup

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

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.