[2] These pointed canine teeth were ideal for the use of stabbing and/or tearing at the flesh of any large prey that it came upon.

Lycaenops walked and ran with its long legs held close to its body.

This is a feature found in mammals, but not in more primitive amniotes, early reptiles, and synapsids such as pelycosaurs, whose legs are positioned to the sides of their bodies.

The type species Lycaenops ornatus was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1925.

This includes: Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Gebauer (2007):[5] Aloposaurus Cyonosaurus Aelurosaurus Scylacognathus Eoarctops Gorgonops Njalila Lycaenops Arctognathus Inostrancevia Aelurognathus Rubidgea Sycosaurus Clelandina