koala vs Rootless Duckweed

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Wolffia arrhiza

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Rootless Duckweed is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Rootless Duckweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (planta)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Araceae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Wolffia
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Wolffia arrhiza

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Rootless Duckweed

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Rootless Duckweed
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.

Rootless Duckweed

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada), and South America (Brazil). 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.