Fringed kidney lichen vs koala

Nephroma helveticum compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• Fringed kidney lichen is Critically Endangered while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fringed kidney lichen	koala
Kingdom	Fungi (грибы)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum	Ascomycota (аскомицеты)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (леканоромицеты)	Mammalia (млекопитающие)
Order	Peltigerales (пельтигеровые)	Diprotodontia (двурезцовые сумчатые)
Family	Nephromataceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Nephroma	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Nephroma helveticum	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Fringed kidney lichen

CR — Critically Endangered

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fringed kidney lichen	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fringed kidney lichen

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Norway, Portugal, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its 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.

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.