Black-Staining Polypore vs koala

Meripilus sumstinei compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

Black-Staining Polypore is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-Staining Polypore	koala
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Polyporales (Polyporales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Meripilaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Meripilus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Meripilus sumstinei	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Black-Staining Polypore

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-Staining Polypore	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-Staining Polypore

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and United States.

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.

Black-Staining Polypore

The Black-Staining Polypore (Meripilus sumstinei) is a species in the genus Meripilus. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

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.