It has a short, wide face and a skull measuring 180 mm long on average.

[6] The Tian Shan dhole's habitats consists of mountain ranges and other areas with colder climate.

It lived in the Tian Shan and the Altai Mountains, and possibly in the Pamir.

[1] The International Union for Conservation of Nature considered the subspecies in Tian Shan, Altai and Pamir mountain ranges as extinct.

[4] As of 2018, given that there are no reliable evidence of its existence since 1946, this subspecies is most likely extinct, though it would be advisable to carry out additional research in Western Tian Shan.