Australian brake vs koala

Pteris tremula compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• Australian brake is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Australian brake	koala
Kingdom	Plantae (พืช)	Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Mammalia (สัตว์เลี้ยงลูกด้วยน้ำนม)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Pteridaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Pteris	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Pteris tremula	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Australian brake

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Australian brake	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Australian brake

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and United States.

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.

Australian brake

The Australian brake (Pteris tremula) is a species in the genus Pteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies. Pteris tremula contributes to the biodiversity of its native ecosystems.

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.