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 (animal)	Plantae (plante)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (mammifères)	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

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.

Rafflesia

Rafflesia arnoldii produces the world's largest individual flower, up to 1 meter in diameter. It is a parasitic plant with no roots, stems, or leaves.