koala vs spiral sorrel

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Oxalis spiralis

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while spiral sorrel is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	spiral sorrel
Kingdom	Animalia (животные)	Plantae (растения)
Phylum	Chordata (хордовые)	Magnoliophyta (магнолиофиты)
Class	Mammalia (млекопитающие)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Diprotodontia (двурезцовые сумчатые)	Oxalidales (Кисличноцветные)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Oxalidaceae
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Oxalis
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Oxalis spiralis

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

spiral sorrel

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	spiral sorrel
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.

spiral sorrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Colombia, and India.

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.