Primate reportedly observed a Scotsman of great importance (6,6)
I believe the answer is:
spider monkey
'primate' is the definition.
(spider monkey is a kind of primate)
'reportedly observed a scotsman of great importance' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'reportedly' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is found within the answer.
'scotsman' could be 'mon' and 'mon' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
(Other definitions for spider monkey that I've seen before include "Long-limbed simian" , "Rainforest dweller" , "primate" , "climber" .)