[1] The species Kerberos langebadreae was created along with the genus in 2015 by Solé and colleagues[1] based on a fossil skull, lower jaw and a number of associated hindlimb elements.

The genus name Kerberos comes from Cerberus, the hound of Hades, a multi-headed dog that guards the entrance to the Underworld in Greek mythology.

[1] The species name, Kerberos langebadreae, is dedicated to the French palaeontologist Dr. Brigitte Lange-Badré, who contributed extensively to the knowledge of Eocene carnivorous mammals.

[2][3] Kerberos langebadreae was a large hyaenodont and is thought to have weighed around 140 kg based on measurements of the teeth, skull and astragalus.

[4] Both Kerberos and Paroxyaena were much larger than the proviverrid hyaenodonts that lived in Europe at the same time and are therefore unlikely to have been in direct competition with them.

[5] This, together with the powerful jaw muscles and crushing premolars, suggests that K. langebadreae was capable of both hunting and scavenging similarly to the modern spotted hyena.