Crossword Genius

Land shred up by reptiles (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

terrapins

'reptiles' is the definition.
(terrapin is a kind of reptile)

'land shred up by' is the wordplay.
'land' becomes 'terra' (I've seen this in another clue).
'shred' becomes 'snip' (I've seen this in another clue).
'up by' says the letters should be written backwards.
'snip' back-to-front is 'pins'.
'terra'+'pins'='TERRAPINS'

(Another definition for terrapins that I've seen is " Small freshwater turtles".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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