koala vs Rafflesia

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Rafflesia arnoldii

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Rafflesia is Endangered.
• koala is herbivore while Rafflesia is parasite.
• koala lives longer (15 years vs 5 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Rafflesia
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (planta)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Rosales (Roses & Allies)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Rosaceae (Rose Family)
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Rosa (Roses)
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Rafflesia arnoldii

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Rafflesia

EN — Endangered

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Rafflesia
Diet	Herbivore	Parasite
Average Lifespan	15 years	5 years
Average Length	75 cm	1.0 m
Average Weight	10.0 kg	11.0 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.

Rafflesia

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Indonesia and Malaysia. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its 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.

Rafflesia

Rafflesia arnoldii produce la flor individual mas grande del mundo, con hasta 1 metro de diametro. Es una planta parasita sin raices, tallos ni hojas.