dooryard sowbug vs koala

Porcellio laevis compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• dooryard sowbug is Least Concern while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	dooryard sowbug	koala
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Arthropoda (arthropodes)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Malacostraca (Crustaceans)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Isopoda (Isopoda)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Porcellionidae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Porcellio	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Porcellio laevis	Phascolarctos cinereus

Evolutionary Relationship

dooryard sowbug and koala share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (animal)

Conservation Status

dooryard sowbug

LC — Least Concern

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	dooryard sowbug	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

dooryard sowbug

Habitat

Typically found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (12 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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.

koala

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.