Crossword Genius

South American's back in a shopping centre (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

llama

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

'back in a shopping centre' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.

'south american's' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'american' could be 'am' (abbreviation in some contexts) and 'am' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for llama that I've seen before include "Domesticated South American beast" , "Wool producer" , "Andean pack animal" , "As bearer of burdens" , "Alpaca-like animal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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