koala vs herbe de Para

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Urochloa mutica

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while herbe de Para is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	herbe de Para
Kingdom	Animalia (animal)	Plantae (plante)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (mammifères)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Urochloa
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Urochloa mutica

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

herbe de Para

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	herbe de Para
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.

herbe de Para

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles, Somalia), Asia (Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand), Europe (Belgium, Portugal, Spain), North America (11 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (7 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador).

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.