climbing-oleander vs koala

Strophanthus gratus compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

  • climbing-oleander is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank climbing-oleander koala
Kingdom Plantae (planta) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants) Chordata (cordados)
Class Magnoliopsida (Dicots) Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order Gentianales (Gentianales) Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family Apocynaceae Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus Strophanthus Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species Strophanthus gratus Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

climbing-oleander

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute climbing-oleander koala
Diet Herbivore
Average Lifespan 15 years
Average Length 75 cm
Average Weight 10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

climbing-oleander

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Guinea and India.

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.

climbing-oleander

Climbing Oleander, Strophanthus gratus, is a woody liana or climbing shrub in the family Apocynaceae native to tropical West and Central Africa, occurring in rainforest margins, gallery forest, and secondary forest from Senegal to Uganda. The species belongs to a genus celebrated for the cardiac glycosides and arrow poisons produced in the seeds; Strophanthus species were the source of the drug ouabain (g-strophanthin), historically used in cardiac medicine and by African hunters as an arrow poison applied to hunting darts. Climbing Oleander produces large, funnel-shaped flowers with white to pale pink twisted petals and a fringe of elongated lobes at the corolla mouth, borne in terminal cymes that are highly ornamental. The name 'climbing oleander' refers to the superficial resemblance of the flowers to the related Mediterranean oleander (Nerium oleander). The species climbs by twining its stems around supporting vegetation and is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental in tropical gardens. The seeds contain strophanthin and other potent glycosides that affect the cardiac system; all parts of the plant are toxic if ingested. The species is not currently assessed as threatened within its native tropical African range.

koala

Icónico marsupial del este y sureste de Australia, los koalas pesan hasta 15 kg y pasan hasta 22 horas diarias durmiendo para conservar energía de su dieta de hojas de eucalipto, baja en calorías. Altamente especializados para procesar los compuestos tóxicos del eucalipto que matarían a la mayoría de los demás mamíferos, poseen microbiomas intestinales únicamente adaptados para la desintoxicación. Clasificado como En Peligro en 2022, con poblaciones diezmadas por la enfermedad de clamidia, la deforestación y el cambio climático.

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