11.9. Phascolarctos cinereus: Koala http://www.ck12.org
11.9 Phascolarctos cinereus: Koala
Common Name
- Koala
Description
With fur so pleasantly touchable and eyes as black as night, the koala has indeed been one of the world’s most
fascinating creatures. The koala originally acquired its unique name in the eighteenth century when Europeans
arrived in Australia. When in Australia, the Europeans became familiar with the foreign creature and they soon
discovered that the Aboriginal people had already identified the koala with words such as: cullawine, koolewong,
koolah, kaola, karbor, boorabee and so forth. The wordkoalaoriginates from the language of Katang, sometimes
described as meaning “no water” or “does not drink.” Undeniably, koalas are not known to drink water for they
replenish their dehydrated bodies with the water from the leaves of eucalyptus trees. Koalas generally live an
average of 13-17 years and females often live longer than males, whose life expectancy is often less than 10 years
due to injuries during fights, attacks by dogs, and being hit by cars.
Alongside their modest nature and enchanting personality,Phascolarctos Cinereusare described to be usually ash
grey with a white chest. They have very thick fur, fluffy ears (with long white hairs on the tips) and an extensive
flat nose. Their strong limbs and large hands help them to climb trees, which also provide their main source of food.
Koalas are, in fact, not bears but marsupials. The genus and species name together,P. cinereus, translates to “ash
colored pouched bears.” The complete taxonomic classification is: