Like the modern Asiatic populations, it was a more progressive form than other prehistoric members of the genus Cuon, having transformed its lower molar tooth into a single cusped slicer.

It was virtually indistinguishable from its modern counterpart, save for its greater size, which closely approached that of the gray wolf.

[2] The European dhole became extinct in much of Europe during the late Würm period,[1] though it may have survived in the Iberian Peninsula until the early Holocene.

[3] Between 650–450 thousand years ago in Europe, the open lands were dominated by Lycaon lycaonoides, while Cuon alpinus priscus preferred forests, highlands, and mountains.

Due to competition with the wolf, C. alpinus then decreased in body size and adapted to hunting and living in forests, highlands, and mountains.