The genus
Phascolarctos consists of 3 species, of which only one (
P. cinereus, the
KoalaThe Koala is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
) is alive today. The largest species was
P. stirtoni (or
Giant KoalaThe Giant Koala was an arboreal marsupial which existed in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch. Phascolarctos stirtoni was about one third larger than the contemporary Koala, and has had an estimated weight of 29 lbs or 13 kg...
) that lived in the
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2.588 million to 12 000 years BP covering the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch. Giant Koala species are known only from fossils found in the
Lake EyreLake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia...
and Tarkarooloo basins of
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
. Not much is known of the
P. maris species.
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The genus
Phascolarctos consists of 3 species, of which only one (
P. cinereus, the
KoalaThe Koala is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
) is alive today. The largest species was
P. stirtoni (or
Giant KoalaThe Giant Koala was an arboreal marsupial which existed in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch. Phascolarctos stirtoni was about one third larger than the contemporary Koala, and has had an estimated weight of 29 lbs or 13 kg...
) that lived in the
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2.588 million to 12 000 years BP covering the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch. Giant Koala species are known only from fossils found in the
Lake EyreLake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia...
and Tarkarooloo basins of
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
. Not much is known of the
P. maris species.