koala vs Pacific yam

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Dioscorea nummularia

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Pacific yam is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Pacific yam
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (planta)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Dioscoreales (Dioscoreales)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Dioscoreaceae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Dioscorea
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Dioscorea nummularia

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Pacific yam

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Pacific yam
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.

Pacific yam

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Laos. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.