In the animal kingdom, a form of ape lord (7)

I believe the answer is:

leopard

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'in the animal kingdom a form' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'of ape lord' is the wordplay.
'of' is an anagram indicator (the answer comes from or 'of' the letters).
'ape'+'lord'='apelord'
'apelord' anagrammed gives 'LEOPARD'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for leopard that I've seen before include "Powerful cat" , "Spotted big cat" , "Large spotted cat" , "Big cat with spots" , "Animal -- per load (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.