Xenocyon is proposed as a subgenus of Canis named Canis (Xenocyon).
One taxonomic authority proposes that as part of this subgenus, the  group named Canis (Xenocyon) ex gr.
falconeri (ex gr.
meaning "of the group including") would include all of the large hypercarnivorous canids that inhabited the Old World during the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene: Canis (Xenocyon) africanus in Africa, Canis (Xenocyon) antonii in Asia and Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri in Europe.
Further, these three could be regarded as extreme geographical variations within the one taxon.
This group was hypercanivorous, had a large body size that is comparable with the northern populations of the modern gray wolf (Canis lupus) and are characterized by a short neurocranium relative to their skull size.

The ancestral condition for canids is to have five toes on their forelimbs, but by the Early Pleistocene this lineage had reduced this to four, which is also a characteristic feature of the modern African wild dog (Lycaon pictus).
The African wild dog cannot be positively identified in the fossil record of eastern Africa until the middle Pleistocene, and identifying the oldest Lycaon fossil is difficult because these are hard to distinguish from Canis (Xenocyon) africanus.
Some authors consider Canis (Xenocyon) lycanoides as ancestral to the genera Lycaon and Cuon.
Therefore, one taxonomic authority has proposed that all of the Canis (Xenocyon) group should be reclassified into the genus Lycaon.
This would form three chronospecies: Lycaon falconeri during the Late Pliocene of Eurasia, Lycaon lycaonoides during the Early Middle Pleistocene of Eurasia and Africa and Lycaon pictus from the Middle Late Pleistocene to present.
Xenocyon is proposed as a subgenus of Canis named Canis (Xenocyon). One taxonomic authority proposes that as part of this subgenus, the  group named Canis (Xenocyon) ex gr. falconeri (ex gr. meaning "of the group including") would include all of the large hypercarnivorous canids that inhabited the Old World during the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene: Canis (Xenocyon) africanus in Africa, Canis (Xenocyon) antonii in Asia and Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri in Europe. Further, these three could be regarded as extreme geographical variations within the one taxon. This group was hypercanivorous, had a large body size that is comparable with the northern populations of the modern gray wolf (Canis lupus) and are characterized by a short neurocranium relative to their skull size.
The ancestral condition for canids is to have five toes on their forelimbs, but by the Early Pleistocene this lineage had reduced this to four, which is also a characteristic feature of the modern African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). The African wild dog cannot be positively identified in the fossil record of eastern Africa until the middle Pleistocene, and identifying the oldest Lycaon fossil is difficult because these are hard to distinguish from Canis (Xenocyon) africanus. Some authors consider Canis (Xenocyon) lycanoides as ancestral to the genera Lycaon and Cuon. Therefore, one taxonomic authority has proposed that all of the Canis (Xenocyon) group should be reclassified into the genus Lycaon. This would form three chronospecies: Lycaon falconeri during the Late Pliocene of Eurasia, Lycaon lycaonoides during the Early Middle Pleistocene of Eurasia and Africa and Lycaon pictus from the Middle Late Pleistocene to present.
Xenocyon