Anachlysictis is the first record of such borhyaenoids in northern South America, and also the most primitive known member of the family Thylacosmilidae, a group of predators equipped with "saber teeth".

[1] This species was found in the Villavieja Formation in the area of La Venta in Colombia, a famous fossil deposit in the Middle Miocene (Laventan; 13.8–11.8 million years ago),[2] based on fragments that include a front portion of the lower jaw, with an incipient molar tooth and a piece of carnassial from the front of the maxilla.

It had carnassial teeth to effectively process meat and flat fangs, located just below the nose, that were not cross-rounded as in unspecialized mammal carnivores, while the accommodation area of the masseter muscle (involved in the movements of the jaw) was reduced.

[citation needed] Until the discovery of Anachlysictis, it was supposed that Thylacosmilus was a close relative of the family Borhyaenidae, or even a specialized member of the same, having emerged in the Late Miocene.

The primitive characteristics and age of Anachlysictis suggest an earlier origin of the thylacosmilids at the base of the superfamily Borhyaenoidea, whose monophyly needs review.