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The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae .
The Phascolarctidae (φάσκωλος (phaskolos) - pouch or bag, ἄρκτος (arktos) - bear, from the Greek phascolos + arctos meaning pouched bear) is a family of marsupials of the order Diprotodontia, consisting of only one extant species, the koala, [1] and six well-known fossil species, with another six less well known fossil species, and two fossil species of the genus Koobor, whose ...
The type species, the modern koala, was named as Lipurus cinereus by G. A. Goldfuss in 1817, later combined as Phascolarctos cinereus. [5] Goldfuss published this name with a reproduction of John Lewin's 1803 illustration of the species in New South Wales. An accepted synonymy of other generic names referring to Phascolarctos was published in ...
The Australian government declared the species as endangered by extinction in 2022. While the koala was previously classified as Least Concern on the Red List, it was uplisted to Vulnerable in 2016. [1] Australian policy makers declined a 2009 proposal to include the koala in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. [2]
Living marsupials encompass a wide range of species, including kangaroos, koalas, opossums, possums, Tasmanian devils, wombats, wallabies, and bandicoots, among others. Marsupials constitute a clade stemming from the last common ancestor of extant Metatheria, which encompasses all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals.
The Vombatiformes include the koala and the three species of wombat. One of Australia's best-known marsupials, the koala is an arboreal (tree-dwelling) species that feeds on the leaves of some 120 species of eucalyptus. Wombats, on the other hand, live on the ground and feed on grasses, sedges and roots.
Scientists linked to Kew described 149 new species of plant and 23 species of fungi. The institute said that its annual list of new species is a reminder of the many unknowns waiting to be discovered.
The Vombatiformes include the koala and the three species of wombat. One of Australia's best-known marsupials, the koala is an arboreal species that feeds on the leaves of various species of eucalyptus. [35] Wombats, on the other hand, live on the ground and feed on grasses, sedges and roots. [35]