It was discovered during the 1922 field season of the Central Asiatic Expeditions around 2 miles southwest of the Loh campsite in Övörkhangai Province, Mongolia.

[2] Amphicticeps was a small-sized mammal, with the type skull of A. shackelfordi (the smallest species) measuring 8.7 cm from nasal tip to inion.

In their initial description of the genus, Matthew and Granger (1924) suggested it to be a "highly progressive miacid" rather than placing it in any existing carnivoran family.

[4][5] Wang et al. (2005) conducted a phylogenetic analysis finding Amphicticeps to be a basal ursoid, being the earliest-diverging member of the clade containing it, Amphicynodon, Ursidae and Phocoidea.

The cladogram results of their phylogenetic analyses are displayed in the cladogram below:[2] Amphicticeps Amphicynodon Cephalogale Allocyon Pachycynodon Mustelavus Procyonidae Amphictis Simocyon Ailurus Bavarictis Mustelictis Pseudobassaris Plesictis Potamotherium Promartes Mustelidae In their description of Eoarctos, Wang et al. (2023) conducted a phylogenetic analysis recovering Amphicticeps as the earliest-diverging pinniped.

Otariidae Musteloidea All known species of Amphicticeps hail from the Hsanda Gol Formation, which is dated to around 33.4 to 31 million years ago (early Oligocene).

[7] In this habitat, Amphicticeps lived alongside a wide variety of small mammals including various rodents, the leporid Desmatolagus, and the erinaceid Palaeoscaptor.

[8][9] Sympatric predators included several species of Hyaenodon, the stenoplesictids Shandgolictis and Asiavorator, the feliforms Nimravus and Palaeogale, the amphicynodontid Amphicynodon and the didymoconids Didymoconus and Ergilictis.