The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word PANGOLIN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
P
A
N
G
O
L
I
N
More clues leading to the result PANGOLIN
- Attack malevolent little creature that's got rid of black mammal
- Pain? Nothing, nothing to upset animal
- One has to record sleep after climbing peak in Nepal one’s scaled
- Insectivore getting sharp pain with ruptured loin
- Animal long suffering in distress
- Poor long suffering creature
- Sorrow about awfully long animal often trafficked
- Wild animal seen in African country, mostly occupying wood
- Insectivore in African country mostly found inhabiting short coniferous tree
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "mammal" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case mammal = pangolin.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does PANGOLIN mean?
PANGOLIN noun- The scaly anteater; any of several long-tailed, scale-covered mammals of the order Pholidota of tropical Africa and Asia, the sole extant genus of which is Manis.