Crossword Genius

Plate creature flipped back (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lamina

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'plate' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'creature flipped back' is the wordplay.
'creature' becomes 'ani' (ani is a kind of creature).
'flipped' becomes 'mal' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'back' says the letters should be written backwards.
'ani'+'mal'='animal'
'animal' back-to-front is 'LAMINA'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lamina that I've seen before include "Thin plate or layer" , "Flat plate" , "Thin plate or scale" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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