vs koala

Clostridium sporogenes compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		koala
Kingdom	Bacteria (Bacteria)	Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum	Firmicutes_A	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)
Class	Clostridia (Clostridia)	Mammalia (สัตว์เลี้ยงลูกด้วยน้ำนม)
Order	Clostridiales (Clostridiales)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Clostridiaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Clostridium	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Clostridium sporogenes	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

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.

Clostridium sporogenes is an anaerobic, endospore-forming bacterium in the family Clostridiaceae phylogenetically and morphologically closely related to C. botulinum type A but lacking the genes encoding botulinum neurotoxin. It is widely distributed in soil, sediments, and the gastrointestinal tracts of animals and humans, where it is considered a non-pathogenic member of the microbiome. The species epithet sporogenes refers to its characteristic production of abundant, conspicuous endospores. C. sporogenes is highly proteolytic, producing multiple proteases that break down proteins into amino acids and peptides, contributing to the decomposition of organic nitrogen in anaerobic environments. In food science, it serves as a surrogate organism in studies validating thermal processing conditions for low-acid canned foods — its heat-resistant spores are used as surrogates for C. botulinum in process safety testing without the biosafety concerns of using the toxigenic parent species. Research has also explored C. sporogenes as a vector for delivering anticancer prodrug-activating enzymes into hypoxic tumor microenvironments, exploiting its preferential germination in anaerobic tissue regions.

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.