All items sold on this website are polyurethane resin replicas, made in USA. No real or natural bone is available on this site.
P. cinereus Skull Replica or Koala measures 6 inches. Koala Male Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Original California Academy of Sciences specimen.
The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes called Koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia.
The Koala or P. cinereus is a robust animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail. It has a body length of 24–33 in. and a weight of 9 to 33 lb., making it among the largest arboreal marsupials. Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland.
The P. cinereus species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females. Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as bald patches.
The pelage of the Koala is denser on the back. The back fur color varies from light grey to chocolate brown. The belly fur is whitish; on the rump it is mottled whitish and dark.
The Koala has the most effective insulating back fur of any marsupial and is highly resilient to wind and rain, while the belly fur can reflect solar radiation.
The Koala’s curved, sharp claws are well adapted for climbing trees. The large forepaws have two opposable digits (the first and second, which are opposable to the other three) that allow them to grip small branches.
On the hind paws, the second and third digits are fused, a typical condition for members of the Diprotodontia, and the attached claws (which are still separate) function like a comb.
The P. cinereus has a robust skeleton and a short, muscular upper body with relatively long upper limbs that contribute to its ability to scale trees. In addition, the thigh muscles are anchored further down the shinbone, increasing its climbing power.
For a mammal, the Koala has a proportionally small brain, being 60% smaller than that of a typical diprotodont, weighing only 0.68 oz. on average. The brain’s surface is fairly smooth and “primitive”.
It does not entirely fill up the cranial cavity, unlike in most mammals, and is lightened by large amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. It is possible that the fluid protects the brain when they fall from trees.
The Koala’s small brain size may be an adaptation to the energy restrictions imposed by its diet, which is insufficient to sustain a larger brain.
Because of its small brain, the Koala has a limited ability to perform complex, unusual behaviors. For example, it will not eat plucked leaves on a flat surface, which conflicts with its normal feeding routine.
The Koala has a broad, dark nose with a good sense of smell, and it is known to sniff the oils of individual branchlets to assess their edibility.
P. cinereus or Koala’s relatively small eyes are unusual among marsupials in that the pupils have vertical slits, an adaptation living on a more vertical plane. Its round ears provide it with good hearing and it has a well-developed middle ear.
The Koala larynx is located relatively low in the vocal tract and can be pulled down ever further.
They also possess unique folds in the velum (soft palate), known as velar vocal folds, in addition to the typical vocal folds of the larynx. These features allow the Koala to produce deeper sounds than would be possible for their size.
