Variant mallard duck keeping one species protected? (9)
I believe the answer is:
armadillo
'species protected?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'variant mallard duck keeping one' is the wordplay.
'variant' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'variant of' mean this).
'duck' becomes 'o' (resembles zero - 'duck' in cricket).
'keeping' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters kept inside).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'mallard'+'o'='mallardo'
'mallardo' is an anagram of 'armadllo'.
'armadllo' placed around 'i' is 'ARMADILLO'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for armadillo that I've seen before include "armour-plated type" , "Insectivorous mammal" , "Burrowing mammal with a covering of bony plates" , "Animal covered with long plates" , "Horny-plated creature" .)