Crossword Genius

Monster clam in angler's nets, put back (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

animal

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

'monster' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'in angler's nets put back' is the wordplay.
'angler's' becomes 'lama' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'nets' indicates putting letters inside (some letters are contained or netted).
'put back' is a reversal indicator.
'in' going into 'lama' is 'lamina'.
'lamina' in reverse letter order is 'ANIMAL'.

'clam' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for animal that I've seen before include "Living organism characterised by voluntary movement" , "savage" , "Living creature with voluntary motion" , "swine" , "See 26" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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