sugar glider

noun

Any of the species Petaurus breviceps of omnivorous gliding arboreal marsupials, endemic to mainland Australia and New Guinea, and introduced to Tasmania in 1835.

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Meanings

nounsugar glider (plural sugar gliders)

plural sugar gliders · alternative sugarglider

  1. Any of the species Petaurus breviceps of omnivorous gliding arboreal marsupials, endemic to mainland Australia and New Guinea, and introduced to Tasmania in 1835.

    As with other exotic pets, sound husbandry is essential for captive sugar gliders to flourish.

    2003, Chris Pinney, The Complete Home Veterinary Guide, page 510
    2 more examples

    As in the eastern pygmy possum (van Tets and Hulbert 1999), this is reflected in a very low nitrogen requirement in sugar gliders (Smith and Green 1987), and probably all sap feeders.

    2005, C. Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe, Life of Marsupials, page 209

    The animals on the cover of Learning PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and CSS are sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps). Sugar gliders are small, gray-furred creatures that grow to an adult length of six to seven-and-a-half inches.[…]This ensures that of the group will know when an outsider approaches; group members will fight off any sugar glider not bearing their scent.

    2012, Robin Nixon, Learning PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and CSS, 2nd edition, O'Reilly, page 557
  2. colloquialnonstandardKrefft's glider (Petaurus notatus).

Origin

This common name refers to the animal's predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan petaure del sucre
  • petaure del sucrePetaurus breviceps
Chinese Mandarin 蜜袋鼯
  • 蜜袋鼯 (mìdàiwú)Petaurus breviceps
Finnish sokeriorava
  • sokerioravaPetaurus breviceps
French phalanger volant, sucre volant
  • phalanger volantPetaurus breviceps
  • sucre volantPetaurus breviceps
  • planeur de sucrePetaurus breviceps
German Kurzkopfgleitbeutler
  • KurzkopfgleitbeutlerPetaurus breviceps
Hungarian törpe erszényesmókus
  • törpe erszényesmókusPetaurus breviceps
Italian petauro dello zucchero
  • petauro dello zuccheroPetaurus breviceps
Japanese フクロモモンガ
  • フクロモモンガ (fukuro momonga)Petaurus breviceps
Polish lotopałanka karłowata, lotopałanka krótkogłowa
  • lotopałanka karłowataPetaurus breviceps
  • lotopałanka krótkogłowaPetaurus breviceps
Portuguese petauro-do-açúcar
  • petauro-do-açúcarPetaurus breviceps
Russian са́харная су́мчатая летя́га, са́харный лета́ющий по́ссум
  • са́харная су́мчатая летя́га (sáxarnaja súmčataja letjága)Petaurus breviceps
  • са́харный лета́ющий по́ссум (sáxarnyj letájuščij póssum)Petaurus breviceps
  • ка́рликовая су́мчатая летя́га (kárlikovaja súmčataja letjága)Petaurus breviceps
  • короткоголо́вая лета́ющая бе́лка (korotkogolóvaja letájuščaja bélka)Petaurus breviceps
  • са́харный по́ссум (sáxarnyj póssum)Petaurus breviceps
  • су́мчатая летя́га (súmčataja letjága)Petaurus breviceps
Spanish falangérido de azúcar
  • falangérido de azúcarPetaurus breviceps
Thai ชูการ์ไกลเดอร์
  • ชูการ์ไกลเดอร์ (chuu-gâa-glai-də̂ə)Petaurus breviceps
Cite this entry
APA

sugar glider. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sugar%20glider

MLA

“sugar glider.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sugar%20glider. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sugar glider,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sugar%20glider.

Source: sugar glider on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.