Common Boulder Lichen vs koala

Porpidia macrocarpa compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• Common Boulder Lichen is Near Threatened while koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Boulder Lichen	koala
Kingdom	Fungi (真菌界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Ascomycota (子囊菌门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (茶漬綱)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Lecideales (网衣目)	Diprotodontia (雙門齒目)
Family	Lecideaceae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Porpidia	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Porpidia macrocarpa	Phascolarctos cinereus

Conservation Status

Common Boulder Lichen

NT — Near Threatened

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Boulder Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

Common Boulder Lichen

The common boulder lichen (<em>Porpidia macrocarpa</em>) is a crustose lichen species with a wide distribution across Europe and the Americas, recorded in Colombia, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States. This species typically inhabits siliceous rock surfaces in a variety of exposed terrestrial environments across both North and South America and Europe. The common boulder lichen is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, suggesting that its populations face potential pressures and require monitoring. As a slow-growing crustose lichen, it often colonizes hard rock substrates including granite and quartzite, forming a close symbiotic relationship between its fungal and algal components. It plays an important role in the early stages of soil formation through the gradual weathering of rock surfaces. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

koala

澳大利亚东部和东南部的标志性有袋类动物，体重最大可达15千克，为了节省低热量桉树叶食物所提供的能量，每天最多睡眠22小时。高度特化，能够处理会致大多数其他哺乳动物死亡的有毒桉树成分，拥有专门适应解毒功能的肠道微生物群。因衣原体病、栖息地开发和气候变化导致种群锐减，2022年被列为濒危物种。