Koalas are the only non-primates with fingerprints, and their prints are so remarkably similar to human fingerprints that even careful analysis under a microscope cannot distinguish between them.
Koalas Have Fingerprints Nearly Identical to Humans
Among Earth's incredible evolutionary coincidences, few are as baffling as the koala's fingerprints. These Australian marsupials possess fingerprints so remarkably similar to our own that not even microscopic analysis can reliably distinguish between them.
Koalas are the only non-primates on the planet with fingerprints. Even our closest relatives—chimpanzees and gorillas—have fingerprints that differ noticeably from ours. Yet koalas, whose last common ancestor with humans lived over 100 million years ago, developed nearly identical ridge patterns.
The Crime Scene Myth
You've probably heard the claim that koala prints have "confused crime scene investigators." It makes for a great story, but there's not a single documented case of this ever happening. Australian police officials have confirmed they've never encountered koala prints misidentified as human at a crime scene.
That said, the theoretical possibility exists. In controlled laboratory conditions, researchers have struggled to distinguish between the two under microscopic examination. The loops, whorls, and ridges are that similar.
Why Do Koalas Have Fingerprints?
The answer lies in convergent evolution—when unrelated species independently develop similar traits to solve similar problems. Humans evolved fingerprints to improve our grip and enhance our sense of touch. Koalas, who spend their lives climbing smooth eucalyptus branches and grasping leaves, needed the same biomechanical advantage.
Biological anthropologist Maciej Henneberg from the University of Adelaide discovered this phenomenon in the mid-1990s while studying koalas in Australia. His team used scanning electron microscopes to examine the fingerprints in detail, revealing complexity and individuality rivaling human prints.
An Evolutionary Puzzle
What makes this so astonishing is the vast evolutionary distance between humans and koalas. Marsupials split from other mammals over 100 million years ago, long before primates even existed. Yet somehow, koalas independently arrived at the exact same solution for gripping that humans did.
This parallel evolution demonstrates how powerful natural selection can be. Given similar challenges—grasping small objects or navigating smooth surfaces—nature can arrive at identical solutions, even across unimaginable spans of time.